Here are five numbers worrying spine surgeons right now:
33.8%: The average percentage decrease in reimbursements for spine procedures between 2000 and 2021, adjusted for inflation.
$53,366: The cost of spinal fusion in Alaska, the most expensive state where the procedure is performed. In a ranking of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the most affordable state for spinal fusion was Iowa, where the average cash price for patients was $37,538.
108,700: The minimum number of physicians who left private practice for employment opportunities from 2019 to 2021, according to a report from Avalere.
58.5%: The percentage of physician practices owned by either health systems or corporations as of 2023, according to research from the Physicians Advocacy Institute and Avalere Health
80%: The near percentage of physicians who said the need for better leverage in payer negotiations played a "very important" or "important" reason in the sale of their private practice to a hospital or health system, according to a report from the American Medical Association.
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