Most Office-Based Physicians Accept New Patients, Including Patients With Medicare and Private Insurance

(By Nancy Ochieng , Matthew Rae, Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, and Tricia Neuman for Kaiser Family Foundation Published: May 12, 2022)

Over the past decade, health care prices paid by private insurers have risen sharply. These higher prices contribute to higher health care costs per person, which contribute to higher premiums and out-of-pocket spending among the privately insured. In contrast to Medicare, which pays physicians based on a fee schedule, prices for those with private insurance are negotiated by payers and providers, and on average, private insurers pay 143% more for physician services than Medicare. The difference in Medicare and private prices has served as the basis for proposals to adopt Medicare rates, or a multiple of Medicare rates, for those with private insurance, or as part of a Medicare-like plan through a public option or single payer plan. Continue reading here…

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