Half of U.S. physicians are considering quitting because of insurance hassles
January 29, 2019 in News by RBN Staff
Source: Investment Watch Blog
by Dr. Eowyn
A poll of 600 physicians by Aimed Alliance, a non-profit that seeks to protect and enhance the rights of health care consumers and providers, found that doctors are so fed up with the constant headaches caused by insurers, that two-thirds would recommend against pursuing a career in medicine, and nearly half (48%) are considering a career change altogether because of the stress.
The survey was conducted on behalf of Aimed Alliance by David Binder Research.
Doctors against Obamacare
As reported by StudyFinds on January 28, 2019, here are some other findings of the survey:
- 37% say half or more of their daily stress is caused by insurance issues.
- 65% say they’re facing greater legal risks because of decisions made by insurers.
- 77% have had to hire more staffers to handle the heavier administrative load from insurance work.
- 83% worry the patients will suffer prolonged pain as a result.
- 85% are left frustrated by such issues, and many admit to taking their anger and emotions out on their staff and even family members.
- 87% say patients’ conditions have grown worse because of such red-tape regulations.
- 87% say insurer personnel interfere with their ability to provide individualized treatments for each patient.
- 90% say they have less time to spend with patients because of the burden.
- 91% say prior authorization by insurers delays necessary care for patients.
Dr. Shannon Ginnan, medical director of Aimed Alliance, tells StudyFinds: “I can understand why many of the respondents reported that they would not recommend this career to anyone else. As practitioners, much of our time is spent on burdensome paperwork required from health insurers for our services to be paid for. This prevents us from spending as much time on patient care as we would like, and it doesn’t take much for all this paperwork to interfere with the services that we provide.”
In addition to the harm that insurance policies cause patients in need of care, the doctors also say insurers — more than pharmaceutical companies, government policies, lawsuits, or hospitals — are the major contributors to the rising cost of healthcare.
~Eowyn
