More Doctors Giving Medicare Patients A Break

More doctors and other health care providers have agreed to take fees set by Medicare as payment in full for their services, keeping medical bills down for senior citizens.

As of January, 80.2 percent of all health care providers participated in a program that helps keep out-of-pocket expenses low for Medicare patients. That was up from 77.5 percent at the start of 1996, the agency that runs Medicare reported Tuesday.

“The rising participation rate is good news for Medicare beneficiaries because it means they can see more providers without worrying about being changed more than the standard co-payment amount,” said Donna Shalala, the Health and Human Services secretary.

Dr. Patrick B. Harr, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said one incentive for care-givers to participate is free access to an electronic Medicare claims-processing system.

“I think it’s becoming more of a hassle to be a nonparticipating physician,” Harr said.

Medicare encourages health care providers to keep patient co-payments low by setting fees about 5 percent higher for those who cooperate.

Care-givers who agree to the system collect 80 percent of those fees from the government and bill patients for the other 20 percent.

Those who don’t participate get a little less from the government but can add up to 15 percent to their total bill, making patients pay more.