Getting out of the Insurance Game

Transitioning to a cash-only practice can increase your income-and your career satisfaction

As insurance reimbursements decline and the administrative tasks associated with third-party payment increase, some physicians choose to move to a cash-only office, where patients pay at the time of service. Two physicians who treat otolaryngology conditions shared their experiences with this approach with ENToday.

A Slow Shift in Louisiana

Gerard J. Gianoli, MD, an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon and an ENToday board member, worked at Tulane University School of Medicine until 2000 when he joined a two-doctor private practice in Baton Rouge, La. After he made that transition, he and his partner looked over the whole financial picture. They evaluated which insurance companies provided the lowest reimbursement and the highest grief factor, said Dr. Gianoli. And then we just started cutting them out.