Physicians did not run away from Medicare in 2002, despite a 5.4% cut in their payments, the Government Accountability Office reported.
In analyzing all Medicare physician claims for services provided from April 2000 to April 2002, the GAO found that the percentage of beneficiaries getting treatment actually increased—and that access increased in almost every part of the country.
For example, the percentage of beneficiaries receiving physician services during the month of April rose from 42% in 2000 to 46% in 2002.
The findings also suggest that Medicare beneficiaries were less likely to be exposed to balanced billing over time, from 1.7% of claims in 2000 to 1.3% in 2002.
Since 2002, Congress has used temporary fixes to prevent further cuts to the fee schedule, although a 5.2% cut is expected in 2006, unless permanent measures are taken.
Permanent changes have been proposed—all of which are costly. GAO has estimated that removing prescription drugs from the SGR this year—an option favored by some medical organizations—would fall short of providing an immediate fix. Fees would continue to decline by about 5% per year from 2006 through 2010, before rising in 2011.
The Bush administration does have current authority to remove the drugs from the formula, Bruce Steinwald, GAO's director for health care, economic and payment issues, recently testified at a hearing of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee.
Mark McClellan, M.D., administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recently told reporters that his agency is working with the AMA to identify administrative actions to prevent the cuts.