Declining reimbursements is a top-of-the-mind issue for most spine surgeons. Here, Brian R. Gantwerker, MD, discusses trends in reimbursement for spinal procedures.
Question: Where is reimbursement headed?
Brian R. Gantwerker, MD, The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: Most likely down. I think the complexity of spinal pathology management remains misunderstood and is generally negatively viewed by the payer community. In turn, they believe what is done by spine surgeons is not necessarily unique or worth the rates at which we charge. Payers are out to maximize profit, and there are only two ways that can be done — raise premiums and decrease payouts and reimbursement.
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