AMA Report Shows Decline in Medicare Physician Spending Due COVID-19

A new American Medical Association (AMA) report shows the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on spending for Medicare physician services for 2020. For the year, the estimated shortfall in Medicare physician fee schedule spending associated with the pandemic was $13.9 billion (14%), with reductions for all states and every major specialty. Despite a mid-year rebound after sharp declines early in the year, Medicare spending on physician services during 2020 never recovered to its pre-pandemic trend. Neurosurgery spending was down 13% from an expected $810 million to $709 million.