Alaska Medicare beneficiaries have trouble finding primary care physicians

Alaska Medicare beneficiaries experience greater difficulty than beneficiaries in other states in finding primary care physicians, and "evidence indicates" the problem is "worsening" amid a growing physician shortage and low federal reimbursements rates, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

A 2006 study by the Government Accountability Office found that twice as many Alaska residents than the national average reported major difficulty finding a primary care physician.

Many Alaska physicians say Medicare reimbursements are too low and often are less than half of what would normally be charged.

According to internist Richard Neubauer, overhead costs in Alaska are higher and the state lacks outside forces such as corporations or unions to drive down health care costs.

Congress in 2004 and 2005 passed legislation that increased Medicare reimbursements in Alaska by more than 50%, according to the Alaska State Medical Association.

However, the rates were reduced in 2006 and remained flat in 2007.

In addition, a study funded by the University of Alaska and the state Department of Health and Social Services found a growing shortage of doctors in Alaska as compared with the national average.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has said she will work to increase Medicare reimbursement rates and thinks other lawmakers are beginning to realize that Alaska's situation is different than that of other states (Shinohara, Anchorage Daily News, 2/18).