AMA Releases Report on Medicare Physician Spending Impact from COVID

The AMA recently released a report detailing the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medicare spending on physicians. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates that spending for all physician services in Medicare fell 40% between January and April 2020, and rose to 6% below January levels in December 2020. According to the report, overall Medicare physician service spending dropped from $95 billion in 2019 to $82.9 billing in 2020, even as CMS proposes cuts to physician Medicare payments. Orthopaedic surgery spending in 2020 was reduced by 16%, just above the average of 14%. Read the report for more details, including a breakdown of care by state and the impact of telehealth on spending.