Medicare payments to physicians for common gastrointestinal procedures have declined in recent years, while reimbursement to ambulatory surgical centers and hospital outpatient departments has increased or held steady, according to a new analysis.

These trends may exacerbate concerns that current federal payment policies are favoring consolidation in healthcare, while putting more financial pressure on clinicians in small and individual practices.

Dipen Patel, MD

In a recent American Journal of Gastroenterology paper, Dipen Patel, MD, of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, and coauthors analyzed trends in Medicare reimbursement from 2018 to 2023 for colonoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) procedures. They compared changes in Medicare’s physician compensation to changes

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