I have read where reimbursement from insurance for services provided to pts… when a mid-level practitioner provides the service the healthcare facility that they work for are paid 85% of what they get paid … if a MD provides the same service.  BUT, mid-levels are not paid 85% of the pay/salary that a MD gets. paid.

What these PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS don’t understand, that the insurance industry will not let Equity firms make more money/profits in the long term.  They will either reduce what MD’s are paid or change the reimbursement for services provided by mid-levels.

What will the pt get?…. POORER OUTCOMES !!!

Staffing Group Replaces Doctors With NPs, PAs

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/features/103114

One physician contract management group is reducing costs by replacing doctors with nurse practitioners and physician assistants, according to a report by KHNopens in a new tab or window.

Hospitals like Tennova Healthcare in Clarksville, Tennessee have been outsourcing their emergency departments to medical staff management groups, which are in turn employing fewer physicians as a way to cut costs and increase earnings, according to a confidential company document obtained by KHN.

American Physician Partners took over the staffing of Tennova’s emergency department in 2019. The confidential company document explains the strategy to replace physicians with NPs and PAs, who often perform many of the same responsibilities as physicians, generate similar revenue for the company, and receive “less than half the pay,” according to KHN.

The document states that American Physician Partners “has numerous cost saving initiatives underway as part of the Company’s continual focus on cost optimization.” Those initiatives reportedly include a “shift of staffing” from doctors to NPs and PAs.

American Physician Partners told KHN that their staffing strategy is a way to ensure all emergency departments remain fully staffed. They also told KHN that this “blended model” allows physicians, NPs, and PAs “to provide care to their fullest potential.”

Critics say this strategy saves money at the expense of care quality. American Physician Partners is 50% owned by private equity firm BBH Capital Partners.

Filed under: General Problems