AMA Releases Report on Physician Service Expenditures in 2020

In March 2021, The American Medical Association (AMA) released a new report “Changes in Medicare Physician Spending During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” which analyzed Medicare claims data exclusive to physician services. The study found that in April 2020, spending dropped to 57% below expected pre-pandemic levels.

Medicare spending on physician services partially recovered from the April low but was still 12% less than expected by the end of June 2020. During the first half of 2020, the cumulative estimated reduction in Medicare physician spending associated with the pandemic was $9.4 billion (19% below expected). The report also provides estimates by state and specialty.

To download the full report, please see the following link: Changes in Medicare Physician Spending During the COVID-19 Pandemic