“Bribing Doctors” to Vax Patients for COVID-19

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I just received the Anthem notice below in the mail from a friend. The subject line was “The doctors are the prostitutes, and the government is the pimp.”

The notice references the bonus a doctor receives if you get vaccinated. It varies by state.

Documents show that Anthem, a major U.S. health insurance company, created a financial incentive program that paid doctors bonuses according to the number of people they convinced to take the COVID-19 shots.

The program’s existence was previously revealed by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who called the arrangement bribery.

“Your primary care provider was bribed to suggest you should take the COVID vaccine,” Massie tweeted.

Massie’s tweet included a picture of an Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicaid “Provider Incentive” program document.

Doctors who convinced 75 percent of their clients to accept the shots were eligible to receive a $125 cash bonus per patient.

The documents do not say whether providers must disclose the cash incentive to patients.

It’s included in the bonus package for Blue Cross.

Blue Cross Blue Shield doesn’t provide incentives solely based on the number of patients vaccinated. Incentive programs vary by state and require doctors to meet goals related to various practices and services. [Including vaxxing]

“The purpose of any performance-based incentives, where they exist, is to reward implementation of well-established, evidence-based best practices in the care of our members,” a Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “While vaccinations may fall into that category, they would not be the sole performance measure.”

The spokesperson said incentives cover a broad collection of practices and decisions on whether to vaccinate “ultimately rest with the provider and the patient (and) parent.”

Are insurance companies incentivized?

Financial payments from the drug industry to US physicians are common. Payments may influence physicians’ clinical decision-making and drug prescribing.

A doctor, medical group, hospital, or integrated health system receives a certain flat fee every month for taking care of an individual enrolled in a managed health care plan, regardless of the cost of that individual’s care (usually with a few exceptions built into the contract.

Some physician incentive packages included more than one option for earning bonuses. Though physician incentives have traditionally been based on volume, the emphasis on healthcare reform and quality outcomes in recent years has led to an increase in physician compensation tied to quality measures. [Bribing for vaxxing?]


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