Health Insurance and Payment Rates

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I had an interesting discussion with a fellow soccer parent at a game. This guy is an oral surgeon and he was saying he was glad to get off off-hours hospital support because it was a pain and he never got paid because most patients were "indigent". I asked if Obamacare helps this since more people would have insurance and he scoffed saying Medicare reimbursement is only around $500, practically nothing. If he came in for three or four hours for an emergency surgery, I don't know anyone who would scoff at $500. (If I get called in after hours, I get nothing.) I understand that doctors are independent workers who have overhead, but this seems like a straight payment, no additional staffing or overhead required. Are there any doctors out there who can explain this in more detail to me?

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@engineer,

I'm not a doctor (but I can play one from time to time)...I believe the reason, doctors/lawyers, etc get paid so much per hour is the time, cost of the additional education and experience and knowledge. Think about the time spent to obtain a medical degree, not to mention the expense of this degree.

He probably complains -- because it would make more sense to stay in his office and get compensated higher. In other words, if you could be in your office -- not travel where ever he has to travel and get $1,000, why would he travel and get $500?

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@Linkat,

I agree, but this is a bonus. He's not losing his paying office customers, he's getting a new one. I understand if you make plenty of money and don't care to work more, that's fine. I don't get saying that $500 is poor compensation for a few hours of work. If he put in four hours, that would be rate would be $250k/yr. That's hardly poor compensation although maybe not equal what his practice provides.

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@engineer,

It's just less than what he would make under private insurance or self pay. I used to hold this romanticized idea that people went into the medical field to help patients. I think $500 per hour is a great wage, personally. I wish I knew something that would pay me like that.
It is my understanding (as I do not work in a doctor's office) that Medicare negotiates the fees down to control costs, meaning that the providers agreed to the amount being paid. I do get that negotiating means that neither party may get everything s/he wants, but the doctors, or their representatives, did agree to work for the predetermined amount.

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@engineer,

But it might not be worth it for him to give up his personal time --- as an economics major your utility is basically what you could make doing something else.

He might not need the extra cash and thus why would he run out in the middle of the night and not get as much sleep, or leave his family during a family dinner if the price wasn't worth it to him.

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@InsuranceLady,

Actually it was $500 for going to the emergency - I think what was written this would be 3-4 hours of work. For some one with that sort of job it probably about $100 an hour. Now for an average person that is great, but maybe to him, it is less than what he normally earns. Why would he want to do so if he already makes enough to live off - what is the incentive?

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@Linkat,

helping other human beings that need medical attention?

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@Rockhead,

True -- but not all feel this way. I try to help others out too, but I can understand if you have a demanding job already and a family -- it leaves little time to help out.

Basically I can't blame him, if he doesn't have much spare time himself. To me this would seem something more likely to do when you retire.

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@Linkat,

That's what I was thinking; it's less than what he normally makes. One hundred dollars per hour would be nothing to him. I do understand it's frustrating to get called into work when you have a nice day off planned, but if you choose an emergency line of work, you cannot keep office hours.

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@engineer,

This is what I know, they are paid high according to my doctor friend because when they went to collage the practice they have taken is not easy and they have to burn candle to study so hard and it cost a lot as well.

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@shielah,

Thank you for that illuminating factoid that medical school is hard and takes a lot of work.

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