Patients perceived higher physician reimbursement for meniscectomy, ACL reconstruction

BOSTON — Results presented at the Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting showed the values of meniscectomy and ACL reconstruction were perceived as substantially higher by patients than the current Medicare reimbursement.

“Our study is in accordance with previous studies that demonstrate patients’ consistently overestimate physician reimbursement for common orthopedic procedures,” Kelechi R. Okoroha, MD, said in his presentation.

Overall, 231 patients completed voluntary anonymous surveys about their reimbursement perceptions. Patients were asked what they believed was a reasonable fee for orthopedic surgeons to receive to perform meniscectomy and an ACL reconstruction, as well as how much they believed Medicare actually reimburses physicians for these procedures and how much they would be willing to pay out-of-pocket for these procedures, according to Okoroha.

Kelechi R. Okoroha

“We then revealed the actual Medicare reimbursement for a meniscectomy and an ACL reconstruction, and asked patients if they think this value is too high, too low or just about right,” Okoroha said.

Results showed patients overestimated surgery reimbursement by almost 10-times for meniscectomy and almost six-times for ACL reconstruction. Okoroha noted these perceptions did not change when results were stratified by clinic location or demographic data, including history of previous knee surgery, income level or education level.

“When looking at health care perceptions, we found that patients did not think that physicians were overpaid, did not think that physician salary should be cut and did not think that physician salary should be linked to outcomes,” he said.

According to results, 79% of patients believed decreasing drug and device manufacturers’ reimbursement was the best way to lower health care costs. – by Casey Tingle

Reference:

Okoroha KR, et al. Paper #SS-60. Presented at: Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting; April 14-16, 2016; Boston.

Disclosure: Okoroha reports no relevant financial disclosures.