Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Scottsdale AZ.
Department of Vascular Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ.
Ann Vasc Surg. 2021 Oct;76:80-86. doi: 10.1016/j.avsg.2021.04.001. Epub 2021 Apr 24.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in Medicare reimbursement for common vascular procedures over the last decade. To enrich the context of this analysis, vascular procedure reimbursement is directly compared to inflation-adjusted changes in other surgical specialties. METHODS: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary file was utilized to identify the 20 procedures most commonly performed by vascular surgeons from 2011-2021. A similar analysis was performed for orthopedic, general, and neurological surgeons. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Physician-Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool was queried for each procedure, and reimbursement data was extracted. All monetary data was adjusted for inflation to 2021 dollars utilizing the consumer price index. Average year-over-year and total percentage change in reimbursement were calculated based on adjusted data for included procedures. Comparisons to other specialty data were made with ANOVA. RESULTS: From 2011-2021, the average, unadjusted change in reimbursement for vascular procedures was -7.2%. Accounting for inflation, the average procedural reimbursement declined by 20.1%. The greatest decline was observed in phlebectomy of varicose veins (-50.6%). Open arteriovenous fistula revision was the only vascular procedure with an increase in inflation-adjusted reimbursement (+7.5%). Year-over-year, inflation-adjusted reimbursement for common vascular procedures decreased by 2.0% per year. Venous procedures experienced the largest decrease in average adjusted reimbursement (-42.4%), followed by endovascular (-20.1%) and open procedures (-13.9%). These changes were significantly different across procedural subgroups (P < 0.001). During the same period, the average adjusted change in reimbursement for the 20 most common procedures in orthopedic surgery, general surgery, and neurosurgery was -11.6% vs. -20.1% for vascular surgery (P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Medicare reimbursement for common surgical procedures has declined over the last decade. While absolute reimbursement has remained relatively stable for several procedures, accounting for a decade of inflation demonstrates the true diminution of buying power for equivalent work. The most alarming observation is that vascular surgeons have faced a disproportionate decrease in inflation-adjusted reimbursement in comparison to other surgical specialists. Awareness of these trends is a crucial first step towards improved advocacy and efforts to ensure the "value" of vascular surgery does not continue to erode.
目的:本研究旨在评估过去十年间,医疗保险对常见血管手术的报销趋势。为丰富这一分析的背景信息,将血管手术的报销情况与其他外科专业的通胀调整变化进行直接比较。
方法:利用医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)医生/供应商程序摘要文件,确定 2011 年至 2021 年间血管外科医生最常进行的 20 种手术。对骨科、普通外科和神经外科医生进行了类似的分析。使用医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心医生费用表查询工具(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Physician-Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool)对每种手术进行了查询,并提取了报销数据。利用消费者价格指数(consumer price index),将所有货币数据调整为 2021 年的通胀水平。根据纳入手术的调整后数据,计算了年增长率和总百分比变化的平均值。使用方差分析(ANOVA)对与其他专业数据的比较进行了比较。
结果:2011 年至 2021 年,血管手术报销的平均未经调整变化为-7.2%。考虑到通胀因素,程序性报销平均下降了 20.1%。静脉切除术治疗静脉曲张(-50.6%)的降幅最大。唯一一种血管手术的通胀调整后报销费用有所增加,为+7.5%。血管手术的年增长率为每年 2.0%,这与常见血管手术的通胀调整后报销费用下降。静脉手术的平均调整后报销费用降幅最大(-42.4%),其次是血管内手术(-20.1%)和开放手术(-13.9%)。这些变化在手术亚组之间存在显著差异(P<0.001)。同期,骨科、普通外科和神经外科 20 种最常见手术的平均调整后报销变化为-11.6%,而血管外科为-20.1%(P=0.004)。
结论:过去十年间,医疗保险对常见手术的报销费用有所下降。尽管一些手术的绝对报销额保持相对稳定,但考虑到通胀因素,这反映了同等工作量的实际购买力的下降。最令人担忧的是,与其他外科专业相比,血管外科医生的通胀调整后报销费用降幅不成比例。了解这些趋势是加强宣传和努力确保血管外科学的“价值”不再继续受到侵蚀的关键第一步。
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