 Provided by Clinician 1
In the past few weeks, my collaborating physician made a monumental decision to join our local hospital as a “hospital-owned” practice. This was not a lightly-made decision, as he had been independent for the past ten years. One of the final deal-breakers (or makers, if you will), was that our health insurance premiums were going to increase—AGAIN—by another 20% in January. Since I started working with him just over three years ago, my contribution for my family coverage has increased 400%. Yes...you read that correctly. FOUR HUNDRED PERCENT. The bane of working in a small business.
So, after weighing the pros-and-cons, we will be making the leap into a hospital-owned practice. The benefits are tremendous, I must say. The savings to me for my health insurance are astonishing. I will save almost $900 per month in outlaid costs alone. Not to mention the other benefits that will be allotted...the result of being a member of a “large business.” Is it any wonder that small businesses have difficulty affording to provide benefits to their employees?
In order to get all of this accomplished, I must get credentialed with the hospital, even though I will not see patients there. To say this has been an arduous process would be an understatement. However, I have tried to get everything done as quickly as possible. Copies of my graduate AND undergraduate diplomas, official transcripts, letters of recommendation, licenses, insurance information, FBI fingerprinting, criminal clearances for child abuse, etc. An application that took me five hours to complete online. I joked that I was surprised that they didn’t want my first-born.
And then...we found out the worst news.
The committee that meets monthly to review credentialing for providers was meeting a day after we got my initial notice. I would not have time to get ALL of it done in one day. Therefore, I would NOT be able to practice from January 2nd until the next meeting...on January 13th. And then, there would be a delay...and I may not get credentialed until February.
WHAT?!?!
We’d been in discussion with the “powers that be” for six months. No one ever told my boss this. You gotta be kidding me! I mean, it’s not like I was a new hire to the practice, or now seeing hospital patients. Just li’l ol’ me. Who would see the plethora of patients that still call…
And, quite honestly, I need that paycheck. AND benefits. Even though my boss was assured that I would still be able to work in the office (front office, rooming patients—just not SEEING patients), I wanted it IN WRITING. I still have not seen my contract, either.
After some phone calls, we were told that...MAYBE they could get me temporary privileges. I kept after the insurance company to get my 5-yr. file to them, paid for overnight processing for my transcripts, and quite frankly, prayed a lot. I thought about calling some people that I know in high-up places to lend a hand...but my boss told me to hold off. For now.
At this point, it’s out of my hands. I have done all that I can do as far as the paperwork. I’ve been told, “this is how they work, Kim...get used to it.” The give-and-take of being hospital-owned. However, once this is behind me, and when I look at that next paycheck and see my hard-earned money actually coming HOME...I will remember that in the end, it was all worth it.
Kim Spering is a family nurse practitioner who currently works at Brndjar Medical Associates, P.C., a family practice in Emmaus, PA. Her past experience includes the fields of medical/surgical ICU, open heart/trauma ICU, labor and delivery, nursing education, nursing supervision, and as a nurse practitioner in both family practice and OB/GYN settings. She currently serves as a NP preceptor for her graduate school alma mater, DeSales University, as well as for local baccalaureate programs. She is passionate about patient education and helping patients understand that they are ultimately responsible for their own health. She also firmly believes that the public needs to be educated on the value of NPs and PAs in meeting the health care needs of the next decade and beyond. In her free time, Kim enjoys family vacations with her optometrist husband, Mark, and her two sons, Matthew and Connor.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE
You must be logged in
to recommend articles
|
