After enduring years of complaints from doctors, who assert that they're not being paid fairly, the state of Maryland has established a new task force to consider whether reimbursement is a problem. The state already concedes that it's in the bottom quarter of all states nationally for physician reimbursement; now it wants to determine whether such rates are discouraging physicians from coming to or staying in the state.
The task force will not only look at rates, but also whether the fact that health plans CareFirst and UnitedHealthcare dominate the state's health insurance market that has injured physicians. It will also try to get a better sense of how many of the state's 22,000-odd licensed physicians are in practice rather than retired, teaching or in administrative positions.
To find out more about the task force:
- read this Baltimore Sun item
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