New state policy aims to level the playing field for independent physicians

New state policy aims to level the playing field for independent physicians June 15, 2017

Independent physicians often receive lower reimbursements than their hospital-employed counterparts. The state of Vermont recognizes the situation and is working toward alleviating the issue with new legislation. The Vermont State Senate passed a bill in May 2017 that would level the playing field for independent physicians.

The independent private practice physician has long received smaller reimbursements from insurance companies than the physician employed by a hospital. For the past four years, the Vermont legislature has been trying to rectify the situation. In fact, in 2015 they ordered two of the state’s insurers to restructure their billing method to be more equitable. However, that resulted in very little change, over a long period of time.

The new bill, designed in part to keep independent private practice physicians from leaving the state, puts into place plans to “reduce pay disparities between independent physicians and academic medical center physicians by the ‘maximum achievable’ amount in the next three years.”

The pay parity verbiage was added to the original bill, known as H.29, which was originally written to address Medicare supplemental insurance issues. Hospitals and insurance companies, along with two Senate committee chairs, opposed the bill.

Why independent physicians should care

At Elation, we work to help every independent private practice physician succeed, both in terms of quality patient care and practice management. Particularly, as the healthcare industry shifts the focus to value-based care, being able to provide quality, coordinated care for each patient and have it be efficient and cost effective will become more important.

We realize that costs are high and inconsistent for an independent physician. We focus our efforts on small and solo practices, helping you optimize your practice through streamlined electronic records, interoperability, and collaborative health records.

Explore a sample chart to see how Elation’s EHR solutions can benefit your independent private practice.