Continued Medicare Reimbursement Declines Could Threaten Access to Physicians
Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy InstituteA new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study found that physician reimbursement per Medicare patient decreased 2.3% between 2005 and 2021 when accounting for inflation, despite a concurrent increase of 45.5% in physician services to each patient. These reimbursement trends varied widely by physician specialty (-57.6% for cardiac surgery to +189.1% for pain management).