1) You are probably never going to be reimbursed better than you are today.
“Wait,” you say, “Don’t we get occasional Medicare updates?”
Yes, but these never keep up with inflation, just as any unlikely increases from private insurers always lag behind the cost of providing the service and have been grinding down toward Medicare rates – or even below them – for years. Any other sweeping insurance proposals, such as Medicare for All, include a hefty cut to physician reimbursement. One exception might be allowing those under age 55 years to buy into the existing Medicare program, which would be beneficial in areas where current private insurers and Medicare Advantage plans pay less than Medicare. It is also possible that you could see some increase if you are on the right side of bundled payments, although this has been more of a threat of penalty rather than a reward so far.
2) Don’t expect an imminent repeal of the ACA
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) favors large groups, and it is still the law, and it’s likely to remain the law for at least the next 5-10 years. Republicans could not repeal it when they held both the Senate and House, as well as the presidency, and certainly Democrats won’t repeal it.
Dr. Brett M. Coldiron
There are myriad regulations and rules that only allow larger groups to reap the benefits from the ACA. Recall President Obama visiting the Cleveland Clinic and touting it and the Geisinger Clinic as examples of the way American medicine should be practiced.
Participation in alternative payment models that bypass many of the onerous requirements of “quality improvement,” and may even allow shared cost savings, are only practical for large groups. A notable exception is the recently proposed “site neutrality of payment” rule proposed by the current administration. This reduces by 50% or so the premium paid to large physician/hospital groups that are not located on the hospital campus to the prevailing rate of pay in the community. No more $3,000echocardiograms that used to cost $300.
Still, this does not increase the overall payments to physicians. Possibly, the proposed new telemedicine reimbursement rules may allow you to more efficiently manage patients without dramatically increasing your overhead.