CMS checking doctors for Medicare access

Physicians enrolling in Medicare in July had to answer a new question on their enrollment forms.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) asked doctors and nonphysician practitioners whether they accepted new Medicare patients. The question, which had to be completed on the form, is more straightforward than CMS' original "mystery shopper"plan to determine how many physicians were accepting new Medicare patients.

CMS said the addition of the new question is unrelated to the cancelation of the mystery shopper program. The data will be used on the Physician Compare Web site for Medicare patients looking for doctors.