Anesthesia Subsidies – A conundrum?

In today’s economic downturn why should bailouts be the norm? We have all seen the infamous AIG bailout scenario and the debacle that it caused. The current healthcare cost debate is prime news on most news networks, and a simple Google search brings a multitude of articles debating the issue. Why is it necessary then for facilities to subsidize (bailout) it’s anesthesia groups?

This hotly contested debate is centered around reimbursements to the anesthesia groups providing services. As governmental restrictions reduce the amount collected by medical providers and the number of providers decreases, creative solutions must be utilized to continue to provide quality healthcare. One solution that is currently being used by some 75% of anesthesia groups is to  bill and be reimbursed for the care rendered, but in addition require the facility in which they render these services to pay an additional stipend. This provides for the profitability of the anesthesia group, but at an added expense of the facility.

This stipend based healthcare model is probably the simplest means for anesthesia groups to maintain viability in today’s marketplace. However, the recent changes to the Physician Supervision Requirement from CMS and many states ” opting out” has allowed another  model to be utilized to reduce costs for facilities.  It is much more cost effective and simple… bill for service. In this model, no stipend is required from the facility. This  simpler model may not be the right fit for every facility, but can be for a multitude of settings.  Every facility should at least take a look at it, as an option to possibly reduce costs without cutting care.

Contact us if you require more information on this type of model or please comment through the blog.