Primary care set to lose more than $15 billion due to missed visits during Covid-19

Primary care practices across the U.S. are projected to lose more than $15 billion as a result of missed consultations and services during the Covid-19 pandemic. That translates to more than $67,000 of lost revenue this year per primary care physician who works full time in the U.S., researchers calculated. This could go up, however, if shelter-in-place policies are once again instituted in November and December this year: The average revenue loss for 2020 would increase to nearly $86,000 per physician. Insurance companies have also reimbursed practices at a higher rate for telemedicine visits now than before the pandemic, and the authors of the new study calculated that if those rates don't stay in place, primary care practices could take another financial hit of more than $173,000 for the year.