Medicare reimbursement for interventional pain procedures: 2000 to 2023

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Pain Management
• Medical Reimbursement Analysis

Background:

• Financial trends for Interventional Pain (IP) procedures in the US lack comprehensive analysis.
• Understanding these financial dynamics is crucial for optimizing IP care delivery and managing associated costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine Medicare reimbursement trends for Interventional Pain (IP) procedures.
• Analysis covers both facility and non-facility clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool.
• Collected reimbursement data for 32 IP procedures from 2000-2023.
• Calculated inflation-adjusted annual change, total percent change, and Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR).

Main Results:

• Average inflation-adjusted reimbursement decreased by 61.31% (facility) and 60.40% (non-facility).
• Facility procedures saw an average annual decrease of $6.76 (CAGR -4.38%).
• Non-facility procedures saw a larger average annual decrease of $18.66 (CAGR -4.48%).

Conclusions:

• Medicare reimbursement rates for IP procedures have declined significantly from 2000 to 2023 in both settings.
• Non-facility IP procedures experienced a statistically significant greater decrease in reimbursement compared to facility procedures.