Wow:

From last week's New York Times story about Medicare making it harder to get reimbursed for motorized wheelchairs, we read:

The controversy over payments for power wheelchairs has been growing as the demand for them has increased. In recent years, Medicare reimbursements have nearly tripled, to more than $845 million in 2002 from just over $289 million in 1999, an increase that reflects a rise in the number of Medicare payments for power wheelchairs, to 159,000 in 2002 from 55,000 in 1999.

For the same period, overall Medicare spending rose by 22 percent as the population of Medicare increased by just 1 percent a year.

A 22% increase in four years with a near-steady population? Sounds ominous.

posted by Quiddity at 2/06/2004 08:16:00 AM