Survey: Surgeons Predict Physician Fee Cut Will Make It Impossible to Continue to Treat Medicare Patients

A survey of nearly 14,000 surgeons and anesthesiologists, members of the nation's Surgical Coalition, showed that less than one-third of physician currently participating in Medicare would be able to continue under the 21.2 percent fee cut scheduled to go into effect on April 1, according to a news release from the American College of Surgeons and Operation Patient Access.

The survey was conducted during Feb. 2010 and included physicians from specialties including anesthesiology, cardio-thoracic surgery, colon and rectal surgery, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, general surgery, neurosurgery, OB-GYN, ophthalmology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthopedic surgery, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, urology and vascular surgery.

According to the survey, 96 percent of respondents currently participate in Medicare, but less than one-third said they will be able to remain as Medicare participating physicians. When asked what changes they planned to make if the physician reimbursements were cut, 37 percent said they would change their status to nonparticipating, whereas 31 percent plan on remaining a Medicare participating physician. Another 29 percent said they will opt out of Medicare for two years and privately contract with Medicare patients, and 3 percent said they will remain a Medicare nonparticipating physician, according to the news release.

Respondents who said they would remain Medicare participating physicians indicted in the survey they would make the following changes to their practice:

1. Limit the number of Medicare patient appointments (69 percent)
2. Reduce time spent with Medicare patients (47 percent)
3. Begin referring complex cases (46 percent)
4. Stop providing certain services (45 percent)
5. Defer purchase of new medical equipment (44 percent)
6. Reduce staff (43 percent)
7. Defer purchase of information technology (32 percent)
8. Significantly reduce workload/hours (17 percent)
9. Shift services from office to hospital (16 percent)
10. Discontinue rural outreach services (9 percent)
11. Close satellite offices (8 percent)
12. Discontinue nursing home visits (6 percent)
13. Retire (4 percent)

Read the release on the Surgical Coalition Medicare survey.