Medscape March 5, 2021
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, physician spending in the fee-for-service Medicare program was $9.4 billion less than expected — a drop of 19% — in the first 6 months of 2020, according to a new analysis of Medicare claims data by the American Medical Association (AMA).
The economic damage from the pandemic has continued. In an AMA survey of 3500 physicians conducted last July and August, 81% of the respondents said their practice revenue remained lower than it had been before the pandemic. The average drop in revenue was 32%.
The AMA’s Medicare report assessed Medicare fee schedule payments to doctors. It excluded spending in the Medicare Advantage program, which covers about 40% of Medicare beneficiaries.
Expected 2020 spending was...