Medicare Reimbursements for Cataract Surgery Vary.

Medicare reimbursements fail to account for the increased time, resources, and effort required for complex cataract surgeries compared to simple cataract surgeries, potentially affecting doctors financially and reducing access to care for patients needing complex surgeries. Researchers used time-driven activity-based costing to measure the difference in day-of-surgery costs and net earnings between simple and complex cataract surgery and found that complex cataract surgery resulted in a financial loss of $646 compared to simple cataract surgery. The study highlights the need for more accurate reimbursement rates to ensure sustainable and equitable reimbursement for physicians and high-quality care for patients.