Government
Number of uninsured takes toll on physicians
■ An occasional snapshot of current facts and trends in medicine.
Quick View. Posted Sept. 26, 2005
The rising number of uninsured Americans is exacting a steep price on the nation's doctors.
According to a recent AMA Member Connect survey of more than 5,600 physicians, nearly one-third of doctors who could determine how many bills went unpaid estimated that such debt cost his or her practice more than $50,000 in 2004. Beyond reimbursement, a host of procedural issues also trouble physicians who treat the uninsured.
Source: American Medical Association Division of Market Research and Analysis, July