A new study by the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit shows patients think surgeons receive much higher reimbursement than they actually do from Medicare for knee surgery.
The study was published in Orthopedics and shows patients thought physician reimbursement was too low when they found out the actual cost.
The researchers surveyed 231 patients from April to June in 2015 who underwent knee surgery. The researchers found:
1. Almost all — 90 percent — reported physicians aren't overpaid and wouldn't recommend their salaries be cut.
2. Sixty-one percent of the patients felt the surgeon's pay shouldn't be tied to outcomes.
3. A majority of the patients — 79 percent — felt reimbursement to drug and device companies should be reduced.
4. The patients estimated physicians received the following amounts from Medicare for knee procedures:
• Arthroscopic knee surgery: $5,442
• ACL surgery: $6,667
The actual reimbursement for arthroscopic knee surgery is $576 and for ACL repair is $1,103.
5. Patients said they would be willing to pay $2,286 out-of-pocket for arthroscopic knee surgery and $3,517 out-of-pocket for ACL surgery. The patients reported they'd be willing to pay higher out-of-pocket costs and believed surgeons should be compensated more highly due to their advanced medical training.