Medicare Opt-Out Trends Among Dermatologists May Reflect Systemic Health Policy (Preprint)

Abstract

UNSTRUCTURED Provider opt-out of accepting Medicare insurance is a nationally tracked metric by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for all physicians, including dermatologists. While this usually only consists of a small number of providers, the magnitude of opting-out has varied historically, often tracing changes in systemic healthcare policy, with a spike in mid-2016 and a recent increase in 2022. Here, we explore dermatologist opt-out data since 2001, as reported by CMS, to characterize trends and provide evidence that shifts in provider opt-out may represent a potential indicator of the state of health policy and possible needs for reform.