Spine surgeons and researchers from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine department of neurosurgery published an article in The Spine Journal earlier this year analyzing current trends in surgeon and hospital fee distribution for lumbar laminectomy.
The researchers collected the reimbursement schedule for noninstrumented lumbar laminectomy from six academic spine surgeons for more than 18 months. The bills and collections from the surgeon professional fees and hospitals were compared and substratified according to the number of laminectomy levels and patient insurance status.
The researchers found that patients underwent lumbar laminectomy involving three levels on average and stayed around 3.5 days in the hospitals. Only 13 percent reported complications. Surgeon professional fee billing was $6,889±$2,882 and collection was $1,848±$1,422 — 28 percent overall, 30 percent for private insurance and 23 percent for CMS.
Hospital billing on average for the inpatient stay, with surgeon professional fees subtracted, was $14,766±$7,729 and average collection was $13,391±$7,256 — 92 percent overall, 91 percent for private insurance and 85 percent for CMS.
"These findings suggest that the current focus on decreasing physician reimbursement as the principal cost savings strategy will lead to minimal reimbursement for surgeons without a substantial drop in the overall cost of procedures performed," the researchers concluded.
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