Ep. 52 -- Surprise (Balance) Billing with Dr. Amy Cho

08/21/19 • 43 min

On this episode, my guest is Amy Mecozzi Cho MD, an emergency medicine physician in MN who is passionate about making sure physicians voices are heard, particularly on the issue that is all over the news lately, Surprise (Balance) Billing. This is when the medical group providing the care charges the patient the balance between their fees and the (low) rates the insurance companies will pay. Obviously this is an unfortunate position for patients to be put in and physicians end up taking the financial and perception hits.

As an emergency physician she is required to take care of anyone who comes into the emergency department by law, physician oath and ethics, regardless of ability to pay. However insurance companies do not have to follow the same rules and can refuse to negotiate adequate reimbursement because they know physicians are bound by these laws. It’s obviously an uneven playing field. These entities have also had the ear of lawmakers and are pushing solutions to Congress that would negatively impact us. We as physicians are generally too busy to fight this, but if we don’t the results will be a disaster for those involved in patient care. I encourage you to contact your congressional representative and senators and make your voice heard on this issue. The current solution in the Senate is the Benchmark solution and would lead us to the race to bottom described by Dr. Cho on the show. The New York (Independent Arbitration) solution is the one that we need to advocate for. It’s the only real way to reach fair outcomes. The fact that insurance companies are advocating for the benchmark solution should tell you as physicians how it will be for you.

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Here is an article that goes over the solutions in more detail: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20190708.627390/full/

More episodes of this podcast are available at www.doctormoneymatters.com and Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, etc. All episodes are also now on YouTube (Audio only) and Facebook.

You can follow me on:

twitter @drmoneymatters

Instagram @doctormoneymatters

Facebook @doctormoneymatters

Email me [email protected]

Please consider joining the Doctor Money Matters Facebook group.

Please share this podcast with your colleagues and join our email list.

Thanks for listening and please leave us positive reviews on Apple Podcasts and continue to share this podcast with your colleagues.

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Here is an article that goes over the solutions in more detail: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20190708.627390/full/

More episodes of this podcast are available at www.doctormoneymatters.com and Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, etc. All episodes are also now on YouTube (Audio only) and Facebook.

You can follow me on:

twitter @drmoneymatters

Instagram @doctormoneymatters

Facebook @doctormoneymatters

Email me [email protected]

Please consider joining the Doctor Money Matters Facebook group.

Please share this podcast with your colleagues and join our email list.

Thanks for listening and please leave us positive reviews on Apple Podcasts and continue to share this podcast with your colleagues.

Previous Episode

Ep 51 -- Starting a DPC practice

On this episode, my guests are a group of physicians who are in the Direct Primary Care space.

They each have their own practice. Dr. Jessica Edwards is starting a practice in TX. Dr. Mitch Li is starting one in the Chicago area. Dr. Clodagh Ryan has a 2 year old practice also in Chicago and is a veteran and mentor in this space.

In the era of physician burnout, loss of autonomy, dissatisfaction, etc, it’s refreshing to hear about doctors taking charge and executing their vision of patient care.

I previously explored this practice model on an episode with Dr. Josh Umbehr, and that episode inspired Mitch to start his practice.

While there is constant complaining from physicians about where our profession is headed, use these doctors to inspire you to move in a different direction.

If you are a physician who has successfully built your own practice or practice in a different model than most traditional doctors, I would love to interview you on this podcast. Please reach out to me via the channels below.

More episodes of this podcast are available at www.doctormoneymatters.com and Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, etc. All episodes are also now on YouTube (Audio only) and Facebook.

You can follow me on:

twitter @drmoneymatters

Instagram @doctormoneymatters

Facebook @doctormoneymatters

Please consider joining the Doctor Money Matters Facebook group.

Please share this podcast with your colleagues and join our email list.

Thanks for listening and please leave us positive reviews and continue to share this podcast with your colleagues.

Next Episode

Ep 53. Opportunity Zones -- Dan Gauthier

On this episode, my guest is Dan Gauthier of the Rose Law Group in Scottsdale, AZ. We are talking about Opportunity Zones. We discuss what they are, how they can be a tax advantage investment.

Dan has written about these previously in national media and I thought he would be a great resource to learn more about them. He is not selling anything which is why I wanted him to explain it in an unbiased way.

Opportunity Zones are geographic areas designated by the states and approved by the federal government which qualify for specific tax breaks that we discuss on the show. Investments can be in real estate or qualifying businesses.

The tax breaks are 3 fold:

Defer realized capital gains.
Reduction of existing capital gains by up to 15% if opportunity zone investment held for 7 years.
No tax on future capital gains if opportunity zone investments if held for 10 years.

As we discuss, these benefits can make a good deal better but do not make bad deals good, so please really vet the deals that are being presented.

Remember this show is for educational purposes only. Please do your own due diligence prior to investing in any deal.

A link to the WSJ article mentioned at the beginning of the show.

Wall Street Journal--Opportunity Zones off to slow start

Contact info for Daniel Gauthier

More episodes of this podcast are available at www.doctormoneymatters.com and Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, etc. All episodes are also now on YouTube (Audio only) and Facebook.

You can follow me on:

twitter @drmoneymatters

Instagram @doctormoneymatters

Facebook @doctormoneymatters

Email me [email protected]

Please consider joining the Doctor Money Matters Facebook group.