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Billing Codes

A piece ago, an acquaintance saw her dermatologist for an annual check. She said, "oh, yesteryear the way, get got a await at the house on my human foot where nosotros removed a wart a piece ago." The physician looked at her foot, said everything is fine, hence finished the exam. Checking the bill, in that place was a $400 extra accuse for the wart examination!

This overnice audio storey from NPRs "third coast festival"  tells the storey of billing codes. Answer: As insurers in addition to medicare/medicaid trim back payment for services, doctors response yesteryear writing upward every billing code they legally can. There are whole conferences devoted to billing code maximization. It's a lovely unintended-consequences story. Good luck amongst that "cost control."

The slice quotes the Institute of Medicine that in that place are 2.2 people doing billing for every doctor, at a $360 billion dollar cost. I couldn't uncovering the rootage of these numbers. If whatever of you lot can, shipping a comment.

Of course, existence NPR, the programme leaves the impression that all this volition last fixed inward our brave novel globe of the ACA. But it wasn't fifty-fifty that heavy handed on the point. Perhaps sense is gaining on hope.


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