Researchers compared the hourly pay physicians received for providing cognitive care — primary care physicians’ main professional activities — to how much Medicare paid them for two common procedures — cataract extractions and colonoscopies. They found Medicare paid 368 percent more for colonoscopies and 486 percent more for cataract extractions than it reimbursed physicians for a similar amount of time spent on cognitive care.
Based on these results, these two common specialty procedures could generate more revenue in a couple of hours than a primary care physician receives for a day’s work, according to the study. The researchers said their findings demonstrate financial pressures incentivize U.S. care providers to perform costly procedures that drive up healthcare spending.
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