Fewer physicians are accepting new patients with health insurance, according to research from Weill Cornell Medical College, reported in All Headline News.
Tara Bishop, MD, assistant professor of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, said the acceptance of Medicare patients by physicians fell from 95.5 percent to 92.9 percent between 2005 and 2008. Physicians also turned away more Medicaid patients, possibly due to the program's low reimbursement rates.
Dr. Bishop and her colleagues also noted a "surprising" decline in physicians accepting new patients with private insurance. In 2005, physician acceptance of patients with fee-for-service private insurance sat at 93.3 percent; by 2008, the number had dropped to 87.8 percent.
Dr. Bishop said the decline could be attributed to inadequate reimbursement levels that have not kept up with physician expenditures, as well as the administrative issues involved in accepting and billing private insurance.
Read the All Headline News report on health insurance.
Related Articles on Billing, Coding and Collections:
Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Asks to Set Up Health Insurance Exchange
Surgery Center Coding Guidance: Posterior Laminectomy or Laminotomy
New Jersey Legislature Approves Plan to Increase Public Worker Contribution to Benefits
Tara Bishop, MD, assistant professor of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, said the acceptance of Medicare patients by physicians fell from 95.5 percent to 92.9 percent between 2005 and 2008. Physicians also turned away more Medicaid patients, possibly due to the program's low reimbursement rates.
Dr. Bishop and her colleagues also noted a "surprising" decline in physicians accepting new patients with private insurance. In 2005, physician acceptance of patients with fee-for-service private insurance sat at 93.3 percent; by 2008, the number had dropped to 87.8 percent.
Dr. Bishop said the decline could be attributed to inadequate reimbursement levels that have not kept up with physician expenditures, as well as the administrative issues involved in accepting and billing private insurance.
Read the All Headline News report on health insurance.
Related Articles on Billing, Coding and Collections:
Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Asks to Set Up Health Insurance Exchange
Surgery Center Coding Guidance: Posterior Laminectomy or Laminotomy
New Jersey Legislature Approves Plan to Increase Public Worker Contribution to Benefits