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Post by John Doe on Jun 29, 2017 8:50:07 GMT -7
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Post by badman on Jul 5, 2017 15:36:48 GMT -7
Up to this point, I have managed to play by the rules that Medicare has set. Yes, I’ve had to spend hours of additional work on documentation, and hire additional staff to help me comply with the new rules. And yes, I’ve taken a pay cut from Medicare this year because I chose not to invest another $15,000 in an electronic patient portal, as required by the second phase of Meaningful Use. But so far I have been able to absorb the increased expenses and decrease in payment, and I have been able to continue to care for my Medicare patients. In 2017, this may no longer be the case. I wonder if I will be able to afford to care for Medicare patients as a solo physician, not knowing if or when I will be paid, while my expenses remain fixed or increase with inflation. On the other hand, I do not want to return to a large group, losing the freedom to run my own practice in the way that I feel is best for me, my patients, and my staff. I understand that whoever pays the bills makes the rules. The only recourse a player has is to choose whether or not to play the game, especially when the deck is stacked against them. Perhaps the rules will change again before 2017, but it will take a loud voice not only from physicians and health care providers, but from you, my Medicare patients. Sincerely, Rebekah Bernard, MD Rebekah Bernard is a family physician and the author of How to Be a Rock Star Doctor: The Complete Guide to Taking Back Control of Your Life and Your Profession. She can be reached at How to Be a Rock Star Doctor. www.kevinmd.com/blog/2015/11/a-physicians-open-letter-to-medicare-patients.html"In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all, By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul; But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."
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