Site-neutral payment: A message to primary care physicians

Primary care physicians could benefit from site-neutral Medicare payment if it creates a more level playing field between giant health systems and independent medical offices. Christopher M. Whaley, Ph.D., is associate professor, health services, policy and practice, and associate director of the Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research at Brown University. He’s the co-author of a Health Affairs analysis of 2026 Medicare physician payment, and he offers this parting message to primary care physicians.

Medical Economics: Our main audience is primary care physicians. What would you like to say to them? Or what would you like them to know?

Christopher M. Whaley, Ph.D.: So, at least as in regards to site-neutral I think that just to reiterate, a key reason why hospital systems have acquired so many physician practices, including many primary care doctors, is to influence referral patterns and to leverage payment differences under site-neutral or site-of-care payment differences. And so if there were to be site-neutral payment policies, my guess is that the land or the playing field between independent physicians, and especially primary care doctors, and how systems would be much more even.