Rent-Seeking: ABIM Shows Us How It's Done

The new ABIM fee schedule was published online for 2018, and physicians should pay attention. Like the classic shell game played by a New York street hustler, there are lots of hand motions and movements in the new cartoon video produced by the ABIM that explains the new fees that cleverly hides the MOC fee increase. And here's how those "fees" are coached on their website:

But what physicians should understand now is the "MOC Fee" does not include the "Assessment Fee."  Here's what that additional "Assessment Fee" gets you that's NOT included with the "MOC Fee" above:

When one tallies all this together, here are the real 10-year costs for MOC in 2018, according to the ABIM website:

While the ABIM seems happy that "MOC fees have not increased since 2014," let's look at what they've done since 2000:

We should all have this kind of year-to-year return on our investments! Here we are, paying all of these fees, just so we can keep our jobs and insurance payments coming.

We now see how ABIM has been "listening" to practicing physicians: rather than addressing these exorbitant costs, the ABIM keeps adding to them by dividing them into pieces and making up new fees so the fleecing of US physicians can continue. 

It's time to end this charade. If you haven't already, please help.

This expensive rent-seeking behavior to fulfill political and personal agendas must end nationwide.

-Wes