Public unawareness of physician reimbursement.

ObjectivesTo assess subjects' perception of healthcare costs and physician reimbursement. BackgroundThe lack of transparency in healthcare reimbursement leaves patients and physicians unaware of the distribution of health care dollars. MethodsAnonymous survey-based study by means of convenience sampling. Participants were asked to estimate the total hospital cost and physician fee for one of the six medical procedures (n=250). ResultsOn the average for all 6 procedures, patients estimated the total cost was $36,177, approximate to 1,540% more than the actual Medicare rate of $7,333. Similarly, patients estimated the physician fee was $7,694, 1,474% more the actual Medicare rate of $589. ConclusionPatients' perception of the total cost and physician fee are significantly higher than Medicare rates for all 6 procedures. This lack of insight may have widespread negative implications on the patient-physician relationship, on political trends to reduce physician reimbursement, and on a physician's desire to continue practicing medicine.