Medicare Trends in Pathologist Participation, Service Utilization, and Payments

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Quantifying pathologist participation in Medicare services may be informative for the prediction of future workforce needs and reimbursement. Methods A retrospective examination was performed of pathologist professional (Part B) Medicare billings and payments from 2012 to 2017. The Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data: Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File was the primary data source. Results From 2012 to 2017, there was an increase (3.7%; 11,215 up to 11,627) in pathologists providing Medicare Part B services. Female pathologists increased from 36.10% to 40.8% of pathologists during this time period. Normalized per pathologist, there was an increase (7.8%; 1,382 up to 1,489) in beneficiaries served as well as an increase (4.1%; 2,442 up to 2,543) in services performed. The top 10 pathology Part B services performed in a facility were all surgical pathology. Although services increased, the overall payment of Part B pathology services decreased (3%; $996,519,358 down to $966,615,856) during the study period. Conclusions Although there is increasing pathologist participation in Medicare, the workload per pathologist has increased.