Urban and Rural Physicians: Considerations for Medicare Payment Reform

摘要

This is a comprehensive descriptive comparison of urban and rural physiciansusing 1986 American Medical Association (AMA) Socioeconomic Monitoring System Survey data. The authors consider whether differences between urban and rural physicians have significant implications for Medicare physician payment reform. Physicians are categorized into three county types: Metropolitan, adjacent, and outlying. Additionally, physicians are examined by high and low levels of Medicare involvement. The degree of Medicare involvement is measured by the percentage of revenue obtained from Medicare. The physician characteristics studied include: specialty, board certification, solo practice, utilization, fees, expenses, income, Medicare participation and assignment, and sources of revenue. Statistical comparisons between urban and rural physicians are based on t-tests for differences between means and multiple regression.