Before Dr. Ron Sroka gets paid, he doles out more than $400,000 a year for employee salaries, malpractice insurance, rent, supplies and utilities.
And for each of the 120 patients he sees in a week, he brings in just about $52 — maybe $76 for an extended visit.
For Sroka, a family physician in Crofton, it doesn’t add up for a comfortable payday.
“Everyone in the community thinks physicians are rich,” he said.
Sroka’s finances are echoed across the state as primary-care physicians struggle with low insurance reimbursement rates, which is forcing some doctors into specialty practices, Sroka said.
Others are opting for personalized health care, where they charge patients a flat annual fee.
Doctors who contract with MDVIP Inc., an organization that supports doctors in concierge care, can make $1,000 a patient and see 400 to 600 patients a year.
The average salary for primary care doctors in Maryland in 2006 was about $190,000, while urologists made more than $400,000 and invasive cardiologists made about $483,000, according to a report from the Maryland Health Care Commission.
Sroka, president of MedChi, the state’s medical society, pointed to two major health insurance companies, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Insurance — which represent about 85 percent of private insurance — as the culprit for the low rates.
However, CareFirst spokesman Michael Sullivan said that the Baltimore area’s rates aren’t much different from other regions, and that insurance rates reflect health care costs.
“When we set rates, we have to set rates that are fair and reasonable with our members and competitive in the market,” Sullivan said.
He added the company is considering ways to better link compensation and quality of care, such as giving higher reimbursement to doctors with certain certifications.
Steve Johnson, interim executive director for MedChi, said the issue should be resolved by state lawmakers. Gov. Martin O’Malley convened a task force last year to examine physician reimbursement, and a final report is expected in December.
“The market is responding,” Johnson said, “but it’s up to the government to evaluate the solutions and see if something else needs to be done.”
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