Louis F. McIntyre, MD

The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons issued formal comments to the CMS on proposed payment policy changes for calendar year 2022, with focuses on the inpatient only list and ongoing cuts to physician reimbursement.

The Sept. 18, 2017 Forbes article, “If we cut surgical pay, will surgeons cut into more people,” is a commentary on one perceived effect of bundled orthopedic payments: If reimbursement goes down, surgeons may decide to do more joint replacement surgeries. The author makes interesting and provocative statements. However, some of the comments question the orthopedic surgeon’s ability and motivation to make the right decisions with their patients.