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1992.11.09 :  Survey -- Medicare-Physician Relationships

Contact:  Anne Verano (202) 690-6145
November 9, 1992

       A survey of 2,500 physicians in five states will help
federal officials evaluate the quality of services doctors
receive from Medicare carriers, HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan,
M.D., announced today.
       "This is another step in our continuing efforts to improve
the  efficiency and working relationship between physicians and
the Medicare program," Secretary Sullivan said.
       Five-hundred randomly selected physicians in each of the
five states are asked to respond to the survey by Dec. 1.  The
states are Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
       The survey asks 21 questions on the carrier operations
having the most effect on physicians.  For example, it asks
whether claims are paid promptly, and how often claim decisions
correctly reflect the information submitted by the doctor.
       The survey will also test the questionnaire form for later
use in nationwide annual surveys of physicians' perceptions of
carriers.  The survey process provides confidentiality for the
identities of the selected physicians and their responses.  
       Evaluation of the responses will be completed by March
1993, and the results furnished to the American Medical
Association and to the carriers and medical societies of the
states in which the surveys were conducted.
       "A sound working relationship between carriers and
physicians is essential for effective administration of the
Medicare program," said William Toby Jr., acting administrator of
the Health Care Financing Administration.
       Carriers, insurance companies under contract with
Medicare, process and pay claims, confirm the validity of claims,
inform physicians and suppliers of Medicare policies, and respond
to their inquiries.
       Toby said the survey "will help us determine whether
Medicare payment and coverage policies are being efficiently
implemented without imposing undue administrative burdens on
physicians."
       The survey was recommended in a report submitted last May
1 by the Advisory Committee on Medicare-Physician Relationships,
created by Secretary Sullivan to reduce regulatory burdens on
physicians.
       The physicians selected to participate in the survey were
identified by HCFA data as representative of doctors serving
Medicare beneficiaries.
       The survey form was developed by HCFA in consultation with
the American Medical Association and the American Society of
Internal Medicine.  

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EDITOR'S NOTE: HCFA, an agency of the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services, directs the Medicare and Medicaid 
programs, which help pay the medical bills of more than 62 
million Americans. HCFA's estimated fiscal year 1993 expenditures
are $230 billion, the 12th largest government budget of any kind
in the world.