Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Why the Mayo Clinic is refusing to see Medicare patients

Toni Brayer, MD
Policy
January 25, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share

Medicare, the government insurance company for everyone over age 65 (and for the disabled), pays fees to primary care physicians that guarantee bankruptcy.

Additionally, 70 percent of hospitals in the United States lose money on Medicare patients. That’s right, for every patient over age 65, it costs the hospital more to deliver care than the government reimburses. That is why Mayo Clinic has said it will not accept Medicare payments for primary care physician visits. Mayo gets it. Nationwide, physicians are paid 20 percent less by Medicare than from private payers. You can’t make it up in volume if you are not paid a sustainable amount. It just doesn’t pencil out.

Mayo lost $840 million last year on Medicare. Since Mayo is considered a national model for efficient health care, if they are losing money, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of us, who are much less efficient and who have fewer resources for integrated patient care. Instead of Medicare payments for clinic visits, Mayo will start charging patients a $2,000 fee for patients to be seen at their Glendale, Arizona clinic. Much like a “retainer,” this fee will cover an annual physical and three other doctor visits. Each patient will also be assessed a $250 annual administrative fee.

Primary care physicians are on the front line of patient care, and senior patients are the most time-consuming. The average Medicare patient takes 11 different medications. Just refilling and coordinating the medication can take up an entire office visit without addressing other health concerns. I grant all Medicare patients a 1/2 hour visit because I would be chronically behind if I didn’t. After paying office overhead, I am broke with Medicare.

I do not welcome the 65th birthday of my patients, but I continue to see them because I love my senior patients. No kidding, I really love being their doctor. They are grateful and respectful and have interesting health conditions. I am able to see them because I make my income from my administrative position, and I have private pay patients.

Sad but true. Unless we have true payment reform that values primary care and pays for coordination of care, I fear Medicare patients will not find enough willing physicians who will accept Medicare in the future.

Tony Brayer is an internal medicine physician who blogs at EverythingHealth.

Submit a guest post and be heard.

Prev

Poll: What should doctors do if patients give a negative online review?

January 25, 2010 Kevin 12
…
Next

Can morphine help prevent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

January 25, 2010 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Medicare, Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Poll: What should doctors do if patients give a negative online review?
Next Post >
Can morphine help prevent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Toni Brayer, MD

  • Health care predictions 2025: What’s next for AI, access, and home care

    Toni Brayer, MD
  • Struggles of navigating prestigious medical systems

    Toni Brayer, MD
  • Don’t wait until you’re old: Diseases hitting younger generations now

    Toni Brayer, MD

Related Posts

  • Expensive Medicare patients aren’t who you think

    Peter Ubel, MD
  • Medicare “Advantage” for my indigent patients

    Aniyizhai Annamalai, MD
  • A perk of Medicare for all: More time for doctors and patients

    Rani Marx, PhD, MPH and James G. Kahn, PhD
  • Instead of Medicare for all, how about Medicare for more?

    Brian C. Joondeph, MD
  • CMS Medicare fee cuts: The altruism of physicians is used against them

    Nisha Mehta, MD
  • Is it time to consider social determinants of health in Medicare payments?

    Cameron Gettel, MD

More in Policy

  • Bundled payments in Medicare: Will fixed pricing reshape surgery costs?

    AMA Committee on Economics and Quality in Medicine, Medical Student Section
  • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

    Joshua Vasquez, MD
  • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

    Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James
  • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

    Holland Haynie, MD
  • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

    Dave Cummings, RN
  • Healing the doctor-patient relationship by attacking administrative inefficiencies

    Allen Fredrickson
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 59 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Why the Mayo Clinic is refusing to see Medicare patients
59 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...