Skip to main content

Medicare Spending: Preliminary Findings Regarding an Approach Focusing on Physician Practice Patterns to Foster Program Efficiency

GAO-07-567T Published: Mar 06, 2007. Publicly Released: Mar 06, 2007.
Jump To:
Skip to Highlights

Highlights

Medicare's current system of spending targets used to moderate spending growth for physician services and annually update physician fees is problematic. This spending target system--called the sustainable growth rate (SGR) system--adjusts physician fees based on the extent to which actual spending aligns with specified targets. In recent years, because spending has exceeded the targets, the system has called for fee cuts. Since 2003, the cuts have been averted through administrative or legislative action, thus postponing the budgetary consequences of excess spending. Under these circumstances, policymakers are seeking reforms that can help moderate spending growth while ensuring that beneficiaries have appropriate access to care. For today's hearing, the Subcommittee on Health, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which is exploring options for improving how Medicare pays physicians, asked GAO to share the preliminary results of its ongoing study related to this topic. GAO's statement addresses (1) approaches taken by other health care purchasers to address physicians' inefficient practice patterns, (2) GAO's efforts to estimate the prevalence of inefficient physicians in Medicare, and (3) the methodological tools available to identify inefficient practice patterns programwide. GAO ensured the reliability of the claims data used in this report by performing appropriate electronic data checks and by interviewing agency officials who were knowledgeable about the data.

Full Report

Office of Public Affairs

Topics

BeneficiariesComparative analysisEvaluation methodsFinancial analysisMedical economic analysisMedical feesMedicarePhysiciansStatistical methodsStrategic planning