FixHealthCarePolicy

Surgeons Push Back on President Obama’s Comments

The American College of Surgeons this week said it was “deeply disturbed” by “uninformed public comments President Obama continues to make about the high-quality care provided by surgeons in the United States.”

The group’s statement notes Obama “got his facts wrong” during his townhall meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire this week when he said a surgeon is paid $50,000 for a leg amputation.

In fact, Medicare pays a surgeon roughly $740 to $1,140 for a leg amputation, the group said, noting the payment includes the evaluation of the patient on the day of the surgery plus follow-up care for up to 90 days after the operation. Private insurers pay some variation of the Medicare reimbursement for this service.

The surgeons’ group also fact-checked the President on his suggestion several weeks ago that ”a surgeon’s decision to remove a child’s tonsils is based on the desire to make a lot of money.”

“That remark was ill-informed and dangerous, and we were dismayed by this characterization of the work surgeons do. Surgeons make decisions about recommending operations based on what’s right for the patient.”

Tags: amputation, surgeons, tonsils, townhall