Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis sees a 20 percent hike in health services in the last two months of the calendar year, according to the report. Health insurers like Minnetonka, Minn.-based Medica reimburse 16 percent more for care in December compared to the average month.
“We have our physicians doing elective operations on the weekends and into the evening and really kind of stressing the resources we have available for anesthesia and other pieces,” Abbott Northwestern President Ben Bache-Wiig, MD, told MPR News.
Dr. Bache-Wiig and others blame cost sharing initiatives like high-deductibles and the increase in out-of-pocket spending for the year end-rush.
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