What is the biggest problem with Medicares reimbursement system?
The real issue is not how complicated Medicare’s reimbursement system is — though it is remarkably complex — but the fact that it offers inappropriate incentives for care. There is nothing in Medicare’s typical reimbursement approach that discourages inappropriate care, and in fact it may encourage inappropriate care. As one example, Medicare reimburses oncologists for administering chemotherapy in their offices. In the past, this was a lucrative business for many oncologists, who could charge Medicare much more than it cost them to purchase and administer some of the drugs. According to CMS and many observers, this led many oncologists to administer chemotherapy inappropriately. But many oncologists claim that Medicare underpaid for the other services they provided to cancer patients. CMS has decided to fix the problem by cutting reimbursement for chemotherapy, but not by addressing complaints of under-reimbursement for other services. When you have a fee-for-service reimbursement s
