11% fee rise for some insurance work
Outpatient consultation fees ‘for the majority of surgeons and physicians’ who treat AXA Health members were given a double-digit rise from February.
The revised fee schedule, for new patient and follow-up consultations, in-person or remote, represents a rise of around 11%.
Head of specialist and practitioner relations, Sarah Taylor, said they were pleased to announce this rise for outpatient consultations.
‘We value the care our members receive from the surgeons and physicians who will benefit from this increase and we understand that private practice is under pressure, both from an increasing post-Covid workload and the rising cost of living.’
The Federation of Independent Practitioner Organisations commented that it would be interesting to see whether other insurers followed AXA’s lead in the face of the large increase in self-pay patients.
Uplift in re-imbursements
It said: ‘Encouragingly, there has recently been some limited uplift in re-imbursements for consultation fees by AXA for those appointed after 2010.
‘This has been rumoured to be because of consultants choosing not to accept patients insured with AXA. While this increase is, of course, welcome, it exists against a significant and consistent increase in practice costs.’
But the increase paled against the rates of benefit which would exist if fees had simply increased with inflation from 1993, it added.
‘For newly appointed consultants in the NHS, the start-up costs of entering private practice are a barrier that many are choosing not to breach. Doing NHS waiting list sessions is so much simpler.
‘For those established in the sector, whether on a full or part-time basis, persistently increasing costs, stagnant benefits and restricted patient access and referral pathways leaves hard work and professional expertise undervalued and unrecognised.’
Civica Medical Billing and Collection said the increase to fee-assured consultants had been generally well received, especially as many who had been with the insurer for over a year had chosen to initiate new fee negotiations. ‘This blanket approach will ensure consistency and fairness to those who benefit from this move.’