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Physician-based measures of Medicare access.
K D Gillis1, D W Lee, R J Willke
1Center for Health Policy Research, American Medical Association, Chicago, IL 60610.
Summary
Medicare physician payment reforms impact service payments. Beneficiary access to care is high and improved from 1986-1990, according to new physician-level data analysis.
Area of Science:
- Health Economics
- Public Health Policy
- Medical Care Access
Background:
- Medicare Part B physician payment reforms were enacted in January 1992.
- These reforms significantly altered Medicare service payment determination.
- Monitoring access to care is crucial during these transitional periods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce novel measures for assessing healthcare access.
- To establish a baseline for tracking access changes post-reform.
- To analyze recent trends in Medicare beneficiary access to care.
Main Methods:
- Utilized physician-level data for access measurement.
- Developed new metrics to quantify healthcare access.
- Conducted trend analysis for the period 1986-1990.
Main Results:
- Medicare beneficiaries demonstrate a high overall degree of access to healthcare services.
- Analysis indicates a general improvement in access between 1986 and 1990.
- Established a baseline for future monitoring of access post-payment reform.
Conclusions:
- Current Medicare beneficiary access to care is robust.
- Pre-reform trends show positive access improvements.
- The new measures provide a valuable tool for ongoing access evaluation.