Regulatory Burden Weighs Heavy on Physician Groups

During my first day in a college accounting class, the lecturer professed his favorite rule: “The ends must justify the means.”

While I never pursued a numbers-crunching career, this lesson was not lost on me.

It’s a fact that approximately 30% of our bloated $3.5 trillion dollar healthcare budget is wasted each year, and a recent survey by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) identified where some of that waste lies.

More than half of the 750 participants said they spend more than $40,000 per year -- per Physician -- complying with Federal regulations.

This is startling.

According to the 2016 Census data, there are more than 953,000 actively licensed physicians.  Some back-of-the-napkin math tells us that about $38 billion dollars is invested in Federal compliance each year.

While one can argue the need for some oversight and regulation, can anyone justify physicians spending $38 billion a year on federal compliance when our federal education budget is $68 billion a year?

I think not.