NEWS FLASH

Survey: Physicians Feel ‘Outrage, Resignation, Powerlessness’ Towards Private Insurers | Physicians expressed “outrage, resignation, and powerlessness” towards private health insurance companies, a new survey of 10,000 physicians finds. According to Medscape’s Insurer Ratings Report of 2011, physicians believe that companies are “intentionally difficult as a matter of business policy. Their theory: If the companies can wear physicians down with repeated denials and paperwork demands, a high percentage of doctors will give up trying to secure their deserved reimbursement.” A recent study published in Health Affairs found that American doctors spend nearly four times as much per physician as doctors in Ontario, Canada dealing with health insurers and payers,” and the additional time and labor drive U.S. per-physician costs to $82,975 annually.