title: The Relationship between Medicare Payment and Service Volume for Retina Procedures from 2005 through 2009.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To calculate the relationship between Medicare payment and service volume for the 3 highest-volume retina procedures: intravitreal injection (Current Procedural Terminology [CPT] code 67028), laser treatment for retinal edema (CPT code 67210), and laser treatment for proliferative retinopathy (CPT code 67228).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective, longitudinal database study.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred percent dataset of all retina procedures performed on Medicare Part B beneficiaries within the United States from 2005 through 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fixed-effects regression model using Medicare Part B carrier data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, controlling for time-invariant carrier-specific characteristics, national trends in service volume, Medicare beneficiary population, number of ophthalmologists, and income per capita.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medicare payment-service volume elasticities, defined as the percent change in service volume per 1% change in Medicare payment, for intravitreal injection, laser treatment for retinal edema, and laser treatment for proliferative retinopathy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For all 3 retina procedures, the regression coefficients representing the Medicare payment-service volume elasticity were nonsignificant: intravitreal injection elasticity, -0.75 (95% confidence interval [CI], -1.62 to 0.13; P = 0.09); laser treatment for retinal edema elasticity, 0.14 (95% CI, -0.38 to 0.65; P = 0.59); and laser treatment for proliferative retinopathy elasticity, 0.05 (95% CI, -0.26 to 0.35; P = 0.77).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study found no evidence suggesting that there is an association between Medicare payment and service volume for the 3 highest-volume retina procedures from 2005 through 2009.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, New York, New York. Electronic address: jtsai@nyee.edu.
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tsai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000191:economics; D039702:Current Procedural Terminology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D058449:Intravitreal Injections / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017075:Laser Coagulation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000188:drug therapy; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D016345:Medicare Part B / Q000191:economics*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015861:Retinal Neovascularization / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors