Rx for Greed

   Fact: The tax-funded North Broward Hospital District has maintained a practice of over-compensating its employed physicians for decades.
   And so...

   In 2010,  a local orthopedic physician filed a "fair trade" Stark Law violation complaint with the US Department of Justice alleging the District was paying its employed physicians far above "fair market" rates.

  This January (2016) -- and without admitting guilt - the District paid a settlement fee of nearly $70 million with the understanding the Justice Department would drop the case.

  And now...
  District attorneys (at huge costs in legal fees) are attempting to establish new contracts with dozens of Broward Health's physician-employees.

   Trouble is, the District's policy of over-compensating its employed physicians dates back to the 1970's when powerful members of both the local Democratic party and the District's governing Board of Commissioners inaugurated a policy of fat paychecks for its employed physicians in return for the doctors' campaign contributions to select local and state candidates running for office.

    Anyhow..

    The major obstacle facing any serious attempt to address the historic problem of the District's fat physician paychecks lies in what constitutes "fair market compensation for a doctor employee,

    How so?

    Consider the varrious ways physicians employed by the District benefit financially:

    1. Their basic compensation   .

    2.  The cost of their practice (staff, equipment, supplies,   

         office, etc.)
    3. Their sovereign immunity as public employees (and District-paid malpractice insurance)

    4. Their legal fees generated during contract negotiations         with the District - as well as the cost of lawyers
        representing the hospitals

    So what kind of dollars are we talking about?

    Well, there's the District cost of Dr. Erol Yoldas, a

 District-employed local Orthopedic surgeon.

    $2,339,178 in FY 2013
    $2,526,340 in FY 2014
    $2,087,090 in FY 2015
    $2,111,298 in FY  2019.
    Again, based on current District financial data, the average physician employed by Broward Health earns more than $400,000 a year.
    Nation-wide, however, the average:

    Specialist earns $284,000 a year.*
    Primary  care physician earns $195,000 a year.*
    But...

    Consider the District's  generosity in compensating certain physicians as detailed in  the current budgeted cost of Broward Health's million dollar-plus docs like:

     $1,010,262 - Amy Relkin, Pediatrics
     $1,024,639 - Michael Chizner, Cardiology

     $1,483,664 - George Caldwell, Orthopedic surgeon

     $1,270,184 - Daniel Kanell, Orthopedic surgeon

     $1,854,719 - William Burke, Orthopedic surgeon

     $1,645,542 - Dominic Carreir, Orthopedic  surgeon

     $1,049,355 - Arnaud Blanchard, Cardiologist

     $1,055,297 - Kenneth Herskowitz, Heart surgeon

     $1,212,505 - Mohammed El Sayed, Cardiologist

     $1,122,652 - Lousi Cioci, Cardiologist
     $1,532,947 - Ashok Sharma, Cardiologist

     $1,112,239 - Violet McCormack, Cardiologist

     $1,321,810 - Marc Aueron, Cardiologist
     $1,424,225 - Barry Berman, Hematology Oncology

     Obvious question, of course:
     Will the Governor's Inspector General look into the cost of the District's physicians?
     Stay tuned!
                                           *Medscape Magazine - 2015