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Medicare Fraud Crackdown Affects Patient Access to Physicians

Wed, 04/12/2000 - 12:00am — Karen Stevenson
Description: 

A national survey of doctors conducted by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) shows that Medicare regulations and recent increased government crackdown on fraudulent billings are responsible for severely restricting patients' access to medical care. Of the physicians surveyed:

  • 82% report increased fear of prosecution or investigation in the past 3 years
  • 71% report making changes in their practice to avoid threat of prosecution
  • 34% restrict services such as surgery to Medicare patients
  • 23% do not accept new Medicare patients
  • 34% have difficulty finding referring physicians for their Medicare patients
  • 22% of doctors and staff time is spent on compliance with Medicare regulations
  • Medicare claims cost 26% more to process than private claims

Also, two-thirds of the physicians surveyed plan to retire from patient care at an earlier age than they would have considered 5 years ago, primarily because of increased hassles with Medicare and increased government interference.

A national survey of doctors conducted by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) shows that Medicare regulations and recent increased government crackdown on fraudulent billings are responsible for severely restricting patients' access to medical care. Of the physicians surveyed:

  • 82% report increased fear of prosecution or investigation in the past 3 years
  • 71% report making changes in their practice to avoid threat of prosecution
  • 34% restrict services such as surgery to Medicare patients
  • 23% do not accept new Medicare patients
  • 34% have difficulty finding referring physicians for their Medicare patients
  • 22% of doctors and staff time is spent on compliance with Medicare regulations
  • Medicare claims cost 26% more to process than private claims

Also, two-thirds of the physicians surveyed plan to retire from patient care at an earlier age than they would have considered 5 years ago, primarily because of increased hassles with Medicare and increased government interference.