Medicare Reimbursement for Hip and Knee Arthroplasty From 2000 to 2019: An Unsustainable Trend.
Medicare
bundled payments
healthcare economics
payments
physician fees
total joint arthroplasty
Journal
The Journal of arthroplasty
ISSN: 1532-8406
Titre abrégé: J Arthroplasty
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 8703515
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
05 2020
05 2020
Historique:
received:
15
10
2019
revised:
29
11
2019
accepted:
06
12
2019
pubmed:
12
1
2020
medline:
10
3
2021
entrez:
12
1
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
While reimbursement models for physicians continue to evolve, limited data exist regarding recent trends in physician reimbursement for hip and knee arthroplasty. The purpose of this study is to evaluate monetary trends in Medicare reimbursement rates from 2000 to 2019 for the most common hip and knee arthroplasty procedures. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons coding reference was queried to determine the Current Procedural Terminology codes most frequently used in hip and knee adult reconstruction. Next, the Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was queried for each Current Procedural Terminology code, and physician fee data were extracted. All monetary data were adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index and expressed in 2019 US dollars. The average annual and the total percent change in reimbursement were calculated based on these adjusted trends for all procedures. After adjusting for inflation, the average physician reimbursement decreased by 31.9% for all hip arthroplasty procedures and by 33.3% for all knee arthroplasty procedures from 2000 to 2019. During this period, primary total hip arthroplasty physician fees decreased by 37.1% and primary total knee arthroplasty fees decreased by 40.6%. From 2000 to 2019, the inflation-adjusted reimbursement rate for all procedures decreased by an average of 1.7% per year. Throughout the study period, physician reimbursement decreased for all knee and hip arthroplasty procedures. Increased awareness and consideration of these trends will be important for policy-makers, hospitals, and surgeons to assure equitable access to quality hip and knee arthroplasty care in the United States.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
While reimbursement models for physicians continue to evolve, limited data exist regarding recent trends in physician reimbursement for hip and knee arthroplasty. The purpose of this study is to evaluate monetary trends in Medicare reimbursement rates from 2000 to 2019 for the most common hip and knee arthroplasty procedures.
METHODS
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons coding reference was queried to determine the Current Procedural Terminology codes most frequently used in hip and knee adult reconstruction. Next, the Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was queried for each Current Procedural Terminology code, and physician fee data were extracted. All monetary data were adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index and expressed in 2019 US dollars. The average annual and the total percent change in reimbursement were calculated based on these adjusted trends for all procedures.
RESULTS
After adjusting for inflation, the average physician reimbursement decreased by 31.9% for all hip arthroplasty procedures and by 33.3% for all knee arthroplasty procedures from 2000 to 2019. During this period, primary total hip arthroplasty physician fees decreased by 37.1% and primary total knee arthroplasty fees decreased by 40.6%. From 2000 to 2019, the inflation-adjusted reimbursement rate for all procedures decreased by an average of 1.7% per year.
CONCLUSION
Throughout the study period, physician reimbursement decreased for all knee and hip arthroplasty procedures. Increased awareness and consideration of these trends will be important for policy-makers, hospitals, and surgeons to assure equitable access to quality hip and knee arthroplasty care in the United States.
Identifiants
pubmed: 31924490
pii: S0883-5403(19)31157-X
doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2019.12.008
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1174-1178Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.