Jan 7 2012
UBM Medica's Physicians Practice today announced the results of the 2011 Fee Schedule Survey. Topline results of the survey show a continuing decline in payment to doctors from insurance companies and Medicare that has been underway for at least a decade.
The exclusive data from Physicians Practice is intended to help physicians understand how well they're being reimbursed compared with their colleagues. Highlights from the survey include:
- Average commercial payer reimbursements for new and established office visits dropped 2.86 percent from 2010
- Medicare paid more than commercial payers for all office visits expect for a few shorter visits
- Investing in proving that your practice provides low-cost, quality care is key as commercial payers implement new reimbursement models
"The survey results confirm that for most physicians, in most specialties and in most places, reimbursement continues to decline or remain flat," explained Bob Keaveney, editorial director of Physicians Practice, which has been publishing the survey – the only one of its kind – since 2002.
"America's healthcare costs are growing because there are more patients receiving more services, and more of these services are complex—unsurprising in an aging society—and not because providers are raising their prices. They're not."
SOURCE UBM Medica
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