Research Matters
Research Matters No. 43: How Hard is it for Medicare Patients to Find Family
Doctors?
March 25, 2009
For the past few years, Alaskans have been hearing reports about primary-care doctors turning away Medicare patients. Medicare pays primary-care doctors only about two-thirds of what private insurance pays, even after a sizable increase in 2009. But until now, there were no broad figures to show how many primary-care doctors have decided not to see Medicare patients. So ISER surveyed primary-care doctors statewide to find out—and got better than an 85% response rate. A new publication by Rosyland Frazier and Mark Foster reports the survey findings.
- There's a major problem for Medicare patients looking for new family
doctors in Anchorage, a noticeable problem in the Mat-Su Borough and
Fairbanks, and little problem in other areas. In Alaska's smaller
communities, most doctors still accept new Medicare patients.
- The ISER survey found only five primary-care doctors in private practice
willing to take new Medicare patients in Alaska's largest city.
- Another five doctors at the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center see new
Medicare patients. The number of Medicare patients at the center has more
than doubled since 2001.
- Most primary-care doctors (even in Anchorage) will still see established
Medicare patients—that is, patients they've seen in the past.
- About one in ten primary-care doctors ISER surveyed have "opted out" of the
Medicare system. That means they will not accept Medicare payments, but some
will still see Medicare patients who agree to pay the entire doctor's bill
themselves. Most of those doctors are in Anchorage.
- The 2009 increase in Medicare payments didn't persuade primary-care
doctors to open their doors to significant numbers of new Medicare patients.
But it's certainly possible that the increase—spearheaded by Alaska's U.S.
senators—kept more doctors from turning away Medicare patients.
Read the research summary: How Hard Is It for Alaska's Medicare Patients to Find Family Doctors? Also available are back-up materials for the summary and a basic model that doctors—or anyone else—can use to estimate how changing the mix of patients paying with Medicare and with private insurance could affect doctors' revenues. If you have questions, get in touch with the authors at 907-786-7710 or ayiser@uaa.alaska.edu.
Research Matters Recent Titles
- Alaska's Construction Spending: 2009 Forecast
- The Cost of Crime: Could the State Reduce
Future Crime and Save Money by Expanding Education and Treatment Programs? - Enclosing the Fisheries: People, Places, and Power
- What Drives the Alaska Economy?
- Kids Count Alaska 2006-2007
- Teacher Turnover in Alaska: Is It Changing?
- How Would $1,200 Per Person State Payments Compare with Increased Household Costs for Energy?
- How Vulnerable is Alaska's Economy to Reduced Federal Spending?
- Dollars of Difference: What Affects Fuel Prices Around Alaska?