They think you earn too much, but they probably don't care

Key Points A survey of patients and physicians in southern California indicates that patients overestimate Medicare payments to hospitals for elective coronary stenting several‐fold and overestimate Medicare payments to physicians for coronary stenting over 15‐fold. Patients think payments should be less than they erroneously think hospitals and physicians are paid but should be much more than hospitals and physicians are paid. The authors hypothesize that patients’ view of physician payments may interfere with the physician–patient relationship, but data from other studies of physician–patient relationships suggest other factors are much more important. The importance of patients’ opinions regarding physician payments for procedures could be further assessed by surveying patients about relationships with physicians before versus after information is given about actual payments.