Between 2000 and 2020, Reimbursement for Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgery Decreased by 30.

Purpose: To examine and analyze Medicare reimbursement rates from 2000 to 2020 for orthopaedic foot and ankle procedures.

Methods: The 20 most used orthopaedic foot and ankle surgical procedures were gathered from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website using the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data Public Use File 2017. The reimbursement data for each code were gathered from The Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The reimbursement values were adjusted for inflation to 2020 U.S. dollars using the consumer price index.

Results: The average inflation-adjusted reimbursement for included procedures decreased by 30% from 2000 to 2020. The greatest mean decreases were observed for "correction of hallux valgus" (-47%) and "partial excision of foot bone" (-41%). The procedures with the smallest mean decreases were observed in "treatment of "Amputation of toe" (-19%) and "closed treatment of metatarsal fracture" (-7%).

Conclusions: From 2000 to 2020, Inflation-adjusted Medicare reimbursement for foot and ankle surgery decreased by 30%.

Level Of Evidence: IV; economic analysis.