Are doctors really dropping Medicare patients?

The recent vociferous fretting by physicians nationwide regarding Medicare reimbursement rates has resulted in threats to drop beneficiaries of the health care program for seniors. However, according to new survey by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress on Medicare reimbursement rates, so far those threats have not been acted upon by the vast majority of doctors.

The survey of Medicare beneficiaries and private health insurance beneficiaries aged 50-64 found the former group actually had fewer difficulties obtaining medical appointments than the latter. Of respondents who reported needing a new primary care doctor, 79 percent of Medicare beneficiaries say they had had no trouble doing so. While 12 percent of Medicare beneficiaries reported substantial difficulties finding a doctor, 19 percent of private insurance beneficiaries say they had had difficulty.