Implications of declining medicare reimbursement of hernia repair for surgeons and patients

Jung Ho Gong; Ankush Bajaj; Yang Lin; Andrew Luhrs; Marcoandrea Giorgi

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.03.015

Implications of declining medicare reimbursement of hernia repair for surgeons and patients

Am J Surg. 2023 Aug;226(2):291-293. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.03.015. Epub 2023 Mar 16.

Authors

Jung Ho Gong¹, Ankush Bajaj², Yang Lin², Andrew Luhrs³, Marcoandrea Giorgi³

Affiliations

¹ The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. Electronic address: jung_ho_gong@brown.edu.
² The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
³ Division of Bariatric Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.

PMID: 36935284
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.03.015

Abstract

In conclusion, billing trends reflect declining reimbursement and utilization of hernia repair, and increasing markup ratios may create a financial barrier to accessing hernia for uninsured and underinsured patients. As a new set of hernia repair CPT codes are used in practice, close attention should be paid to the downstream effects of billing practices in hernia repair on physician and patient alike.

Publication types

Editorial

MeSH terms

Aged
Herniorrhaphy*
Humans
Medicare
Surgeons*
United States