Surgical assistants have figured out how to make thousands more than the doctors they’re helping in the operating room — and it’s perfectly legal

Growing calls for reform

Some health experts warn that a lucrative arbitration process could encourage doctors, surgical assistants and other medical providers to opt for arbitration instead of accepting a smaller payout from a person’s health insurance. And trade groups are pushing for changes to prevent staggering payouts.

“Policy action is needed to address flawed incentives in the IDR process and protect consumers from unconscionable price gouging by out-of-network providers and IDR middlemen,” said Chris Bond, a spokesperson for AHIP, a trade association that represents the U.S. health insurance industry, in a statement.

Surgical assistant groups told the NYT that health insurers often exclude them from their networks, and they’ll receive meager payments that fluctuate in amount. Luis Aragon, chief executive of Illinois-based Surgikal Assistants, told the New York Times that he once received $30 after a three-hour robotic surgery. He also said that a constant stream of five or six-digit payouts is “not sustainable” for healthcare.

The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan budget scorekeeper, initially projected a substantial reduction in overall health spending from the federal government in response to the law’s implementation. Earlier this month, the CBO said the law could increase health prices and monthly premiums for commercial health insurance since it hadn’t forecasted sizable payouts from the arbitration process.