Two physician leaders recently connected with Becker's to discuss the healthcare trends they are wary of.
Editor's note: This response was edited lightly for brevity and clarity.
Adeel Faruki, MD. Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (Aurora): Reimbursements are not matching inflation rates. I believe 2023 will be the year providers will fight harder for better rates in contracts with insurance companies. If negotiations don't go well, these providers may even opt out from certain contracts, resulting in more out-of-network providers for patients.
Daniel Larose, MD. CEO of Advanced Surgery Center (Omaha, Neb.): This does not apply only to 2023, but the increase in Medicaid coverage forms a significant block of the market that is harder for ASC to treat. For instance, in Iowa, often the total reimbursement on procedures with implants is a fraction of the cost of the implant alone. As the number of patients on Medicaid increases, mainly because of ObamaCare, the number of patients that ASCs cannot afford to treat increases as well. Often these patients are treated at the hospital at a greater cost.