Gender variation in clinical activity and Medicare payments among medical oncologists and hematologists.

Authors

null

Manojna Konda

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR

Manojna Konda , Arya Roy , Richa Parikh , Tyler Fugere , Manoja Gullapalli , Yadav Pandey , Rashmi Verma

Organizations

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, Texas Tech Univ HSC, Lubbock, TX

Research Funding

No funding received
None

Background: While physician sex has been shown to impact salary even after adjusting for productivity, gender-based differences in clinical activity and reimbursement for oncologists and hematologists are not completely understood. We evaluated the differences in Medicare reimbursement for male and female physicians in medical oncology and hematology. Methods: A retrospective analysis using Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File (POSPUF) for the year 2017 was performed to identify charges and total payment information for individual oncologists and hematologists. Mean values were compared using two-sample t-test, and the medians were compared by Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Results: A total of 8553 oncologists and hematologists (2710 women and 5843 men) were included in the POSPUF in 2017. Female physicians submitted a mean of 16,754 fewer charges (95% CI, −19,696 to −13,812; P< .0001), collected a mean of $173,632 less in revenue (95% CI, −201,184 to −146,080; P< .0001), and submitted a mean of 5.65 fewer unique billing codes (95% CI, - 6.69 to - 4.61; P<.0001) compared to their male counterparts. Women represented 219 of the 1069 most highly productive oncologists and hematologists (20.4%) and collected a mean of $281,263 (95% CI, −417,517 to −145,008; P< .0001) less than similarly productive men. Conclusions: This study suggests that female oncologists and hematologists submit fewer Medicare charges and receive lower Medicare payments compared to male providers. Even among similarly productive hematologists and oncologists, women collected less revenue than men. Further research is required to explore causes for this difference.

Number of charges, payments, and unique billing codes in 2017.

VariableTotal, No.
(%)
Mean
(SD)
Mean Difference
(95% CI)
P ValueMedian
(IQR)
Median
P Value
Charges, No.All318,517,08737,240
(74,149)
NANA2176
(42,000)
NA
Women69,905,377
(22.1)
25,795
(55,478)
−16,754
(−19,696 to −13,812)
<0.00011,066
(23,414)
<0.0001
Men248,611,710
(77.8)
42,549
(80,823)
NANA3,359
(52,236)
NA
Payments, $All3,378,143,718394,966
(696,989)
NANA89,481
(438,595)
NA
Women748,906,486
(21.9)
276,349
(517,373)
−173,632
(−201,184 to−146,080)
<0.000159,520
(261,406)
<0.0001
Men2,629,237,233
(78.1)
449,981
(759,912)
NANA108,894
(522,317)
NA
Unique Billing Codes, No.All86822.16
(23.3)
NANA10
(31)
NA
Women496
(57.1)
18.30
(21.43)
− 5.65
(− 6.69 to − 4.61)
<0.00017
(26)
<0.0001
Men832
(95.8)
23.95
(25.35)
NANA13
(34)
NA

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program

Session Type

Poster Discussion Session

Session Title

Professional Development and Education Advances

Track

Medical Education and Professional Development

Sub Track

Workplace Disparities/Issues

Citation

J Clin Oncol 38: 2020 (suppl; abstr 11014)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2020.38.15_suppl.11014

Abstract #

11014

Poster Bd #

271

Abstract Disclosures

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