A shortened version of a recent conversation with a well established private consultant surgeon.
Very recently one of the major PMI players announced a further reduction in payable fees. Definitely applicable to newly recognised consultants in January 2015, the fee reduction does not apply to those recognised previously. Ot at least it didn’t.
But it does now.
The immediate retort from another very well established MHM client was to pass any reduction on to the patient. That’s all well and good but not if she is fee assured with the insurance company concerned. I actually checked just to be sure. Yep; if a fee reduction is passed on to a patient by a fee assured consultant, the consultants recognition may be put at risk.
None of the above means MHM agrees with insurance companies reducing fees – even though market forces may on occasion be the root cause of such reduction. By all means argue with the insurance company. And I already am.
But…don’t rely solely on that argument and assume the argument fees should not be reduced will be successful. It might. There again it might not.
Instead make sure you are charging the very maximum you can. Make sure you are charging for everything you do. If the surgery takes twice as long as expected, request an uplift fee. If a double consultation is required, charge for a double consultation. Its not as difficult as you may think it is.
And don’t forget to do a sanity check each month. If you think a 20% reduction in fees is bad, consider the 100% reduction if you fail to charge an entire consultation.
Whilst the question of where fees will go will be considered in future blogs, its important before even thinking about your fees to make absolutely sure you are charging the right fee already. You’d be surprised how many aren’t!!!!
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