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A general practitioner's practice

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

In an article about the impact of proposed cuts in Medicare, one GP's practice was described:

Schreiber sees 120 patients a week. About 30% of them are enrolled directly in Medicare, while another 65% have private insurance plans that peg their payments on Medicare's rates. Only 5% pay on their own.

As to impact: As a result, Schreiber expects the cuts to take away $3 out of every $5 he currently earns.

The amount the doctor receives depends on "how" the patient is insured: For his privately insured patients, Schreiber gets paid an additional 10% to 20% above Medicare rates.

As a general observation, patients without insurance get charged the most.

**Entirely separately, IPBiz notes that news.google has a "news" story based upon a retrieval from archived news of the 1960's:
The New York Yankees Had to Trade Roger Maris Roger Maris was not treated fairly by New York fans, and, in the end, he was hurt:
"My knee was hurt when I collided with Bill Freehan at home plate and my wrist was hurt while I was batting in Washington. People thought I didn't want to play, but I was hurt. I couldn't play."

Also of the 1960's, Medicare was strongly opposed by doctors at the time of its enactment. Now, Medicare is a principle revenue stream, the alteration of which can have dramatic impact.

One thing likely not foreseeable in the 1960's: current approaches to the mortgage crisis:

Taking effect on April 5, the program could encourage hundreds of thousands of delinquent borrowers who have not been rescued by the loan modification program to shed their houses through a process known as a short sale, in which property is sold for less than the balance of the mortgage. Lenders will be compelled to accept that arrangement, forgiving the difference between the market price of the property and what they are owed.

Full post as published by IPBiz on March 08, 2010 (boomark / email).