Patient Perceptions of Physician Reimbursement for Retinal Detachment Surgery

Abstract

Purpose:

Despite an ongoing societal debate on health-care costs, little is known about how patients perceive their cost of care.

Methods:

Survey of patients (n = 30) who underwent vitrectomy for retinal detachment asking about estimated actual physician reimbursement and suggested reasonable physician reimbursement for their surgery.

Results:

Mean estimated actual fee was $6800, and mean reasonable suggested fee was $14 115. Hence, patients overestimated the actual fee of $1683 by a factor of 4 and suggested 8 times higher reimbursement to be reasonable.

Conclusion:

This is the first study investigating patient perceptions of physician reimbursement in retina surgery. Results demonstrate that patients drastically overestimate physician reimbursement for retinal detachment repair, and they value the work of their surgeon much higher than what current Medicare reimbursement reflects. This study should help spark a discussion about current health-care dollar allocation.