OIG: Data Inconclusive About Why Docs Leave Medicare
A report released last week by the Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General found that limited data made it difficult to gauge if issues surrounding the uncertainty of physician pay is driving doctors to opt out of Medicare.
CQ HealthBeat: OIG Report: Data Inconclusive On Doctors Abandoning Medicare
It's a common threat of physician groups: if Congress doesn't end the ongoing uncertainty over how much doctors will get reimbursed for seeing Medicare patients, they will be forced to leave the program. For years, lawmakers have stepped into block the cuts called for under Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate formula. But provider groups say the short-term patches — the latest will expire Feb. 29 — make it difficult for physicians to continue seeing seniors. It's been unclear, however, how many physicians really are dropping out of the program (Ethridge, 1/27).
Modern Healthcare: Report Cites Lack Of Data On Docs Quitting Medicare
Results released from a report commissioned last year by HHS' inspector general's office found that limited data prevented researchers from drawing any conclusions about why physicians opt out of Medicare. The results from Lack of Data Regarding Physicians Opting Out of Medicare, show the OIG failed to reach its original goal of finding why doctors chose to not participate in the program. Instead, it calls for more stringent CMS data requirements for physicians and non-physician practitioners who opted out Medicare after Jan. 1, 2009 (Selvam, 1/27).
