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Originally Posted by billethkid

Where is the base point?
There a reality the base being charged by doctors was significantly over stated in the first place knowing there would be varying approved levels of payments by differing insurance providers.

PAyment reductions or non increases are not an apples to apples comparison to wages or compensation that is paid without such variances.

Here are some numbers to consider, from some primary practice business-planning consultants:

“In the primary care groups we’ve worked with, the biggest factor that determines how much business they need to bring in is directly tied to the salary the physician wants,” says Andrew Creme, MBA, a consultant with MD Practice Consulting, Lake Mary, Florida. When discussing benchmarks, “it really depends a lot on the situation a practice is in,” he adds.

If you are new to practice, only take what you need to survive, then determine how long it will take for you to break even, Quattlebaum says.

The average income of a PCP, depending on the size of the patient panel, ranges from $120,000 to $180,000. Add in staffing costs, overhead, facility fees, and more, and a “bare-bones” practice would have to bring in $700,000 to $800,000 a year in business, Creme estimates.

On the low end of the physician salary scale, a practice should expect to generate $50,000 to $60,000 per month in revenue. Average salary requirements drive a need for $100,000 to $150,000 a month in revenue, whereas high-end salaries demand $250,000 to $300,000 of revenue each month. Those figures only finance smaller practices, perhaps with a single practitioner and one to two midlevel providers, Creme says.

Once doctor income has been set, most new primary care practices need to earmark about $250,000 in startup costs, then decide what they will need in average collections to estimate a total panel size needed. Panel size and average collections depend on the market and the payer mix for their area of practice……"

6 keys to profitability | Medical Economics