New Report Says More Doctors are Accepting Medicare

More physicians are accepting Medicare patients, according to a report released by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) out of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). According to the report, which utilized federal survey data and in-person interviews of physicians or office staff between 2005 and 2010, the percentage of physicians who report accepting new Medicare patients was 87.9 percent in 2005 and increased to 90.7 percent in 2012. Although the increase is not statistically significant, the report found that beneficiary access to care has remained high over the past five years. The report also finds that the percentage of physicians who accept new Medicare patients is higher than the percentage of those accepting new private insurance patients. In addition, any increase in the number of providers opting out of the Medicare program was mitigated by the increase in other physicians who accept new Medicare patients. Since 2007, the total number of providers participating in the Medicare program and billing for Medicare services has steadily increased. Joe Baker, President of the Medicare Rights Center, was quoted in a USA TODAY article on the report’s findings. Concerns about physician participation in Medicare become more pronounced with each year that Congress delays the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, which direct affects payment to Medicare doctors. Allowing the SGR to go into effect could lead to provider cuts as high as 30 percent. Yet, for the last decade Congress acted annually to avert these drastic cuts. Still, certain providers use this issue as what Mr. Baker calls “a political football.” Mr. Baker says of these providers, “They tell their patients…if Congress cuts my reimbursement 30 percent, I won’t be able to see you.” For now, the findings of the ASPE report should quiet concerns that doctors are leaving the Medicare program because of the SGR or otherwise. Mr. Baker echoed the findings in the ASPE report saying, “There are still plenty of doctors taking Medicare.”