Docs earn nearly 400% more for procedures than cognitive care

Medicare reimburses physicians up to five times more for performing common procedures than for cognitive care, allowing specialists to generate more revenue in an hour or two than a primary care physician makes in a day, a new study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine finds. A physician makes 368 percent more doing a colonoscopy than spending the same amount of time on cognitive care, according to the study abstract. The reimbursement for removing a cataract is 486 percent higher than comparable cognitive care. The study "illustrates the financial pressures that may contribute to the U.S. healthcare system's emphasis on procedural care," the researchers conclude. -- read the full report from FierceHealthFinance