Medicare Physician Payment Reform: Changing Incentives to Maintain Access to Quality Surgical Services

摘要

Medicare is the nation's largest single payer for health care services, covering approximately 42 million Americans; this number is projected to double by the year 2030 as the "infant boom" generation enrolls in full force.1 Although Medicare is federally administered and, for the most part, federally financed, its beneficiaries are served almost exclusively by private providers. Since 2002, Congress has acted to prevent scheduled cuts in fees for physicians' services, postponing the budgetary consequences of Part B spending that has exceeded the target established by the current legislation. Much of the discussion about this issue is focused on how to revise the fee schedule, and there has been little movement to deal with more fundamental problems in the system.