No matter the practice, every conversion factor is expected to keep dropping as long as the flawed formula's in use. No matter what mix of services physicians provide, they will not escape Medicare's falling payment rates. A. Medicare price controls are ineffective because they neutralize the leveling force of competition and offer no economic incentive to do a better job at less cost. Price controls on health care spending didn't work in the 60s, they didn't work in the 70s and they're not working for Medicare in the 90s. With so- called price controls, Medicare spending since 1991 is escalating 10 percent a year.
Competition drives every other major aspect of America's economy.
A. Don't be deceived by data that says Medicare's payments to physicians have been falling since 1992, thanks to price controls. Greater services per physician visit. Greater complexity of services. What's not keeping up is our ability to use these technologies more efficiently and with a better sense of cost-effectiveness. This disconnect between patient and cost is why Medicare patients with medigap insurance consume 24 percent more services.