Medicare

Variations in Payments to Anesthesiologists Linked to Anesthesia Time Gao ID: HRD-91-43 April 30, 1991

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed anesthesia times that physicians reported to Medicare to verify their accuracy.

GAO found that: (1) there was no consistent time schedule or average Medicare payment among anesthesiologists who performed identical procedures; (2) while Medicare paid other doctors based on procedure instead of time, it paid anesthesiologists based on the amount of time they spent with the patients; (3) while anesthesiologists could not control the length of surgery or the occurrence of complications, there should be a more uniform pre- and post-operative schedule for anesthesiologist services; (4) Medicare lacked internal controls to ensure that anesthesiologists' reported times were accurate; and (5) in 13 percent of the claims GAO reviewed, anesthesiology service time on medical records differed from the times reported on the Medicare claims.

Recommendations

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