Physician Employment
(April 2011) - The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is likely lead to increased physician employment by hospitals. Some experts predict PPACA will lead to the complete demise of solo and group physician practices.
The “perfect storm” of legislative changes included in the PPACA and the HITECH ACT, have created an environment enticing physicians to abandon the traditional private practice model and move to the employee model. CMS payment models contained in the PPACA force physicians to collaborate with multiple providers in a variety of care centers in order to get paid.
The advent of ACO’s, bundled payments and the demise of segmented or fee for service payments, may create shared savings for providers to recoup; but what if they don’t? What is the financial risk for the physician if costs/containment for the Medicare beneficiaries is not met? For many physicians, the answer to the complicated regulatory questions on the horizon is to become a hospital employee. But, buyer beware. The employed physician agreement is usually its own legal quagmire, so step lightly and get good advice before accepting guaranteed income. Employment agreements with hospitals now may include mandatory call, mandatory committee work or leadership roles, minimum RVU requirements, vacation time restrictions, etc.
