Let’s say a doctor refers a patient for an MRI scan to a clinic he has a financial interest in. Or sends a patient for a series of tests to a lab he owns. Should we care about any of this? We probably wouldn’t if patients paid for their own care with their own money. But when insurance pays the bills, the medical marketplace becomes like an arms race—with providers and payers constantly battling over what will be covered and will be paid.
Why Do We Care About Doctor Self Referrals?
Also published in Forbes Thu. October 30, 2014
John C. Goodman is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, author of Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis and President of the Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research.
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