Geographic Variation in Physicians' Responses to a Reimbursement Change

Many studies have documented US. geographical variation in the intensity of health care utilization and the level of Medicare spending. However, such variation in response to Medicare policy changes has received much less attention. This limitation has become more important in the face of the myriad Medicare-reimbursement changes included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). This study examined variation in geographic response to a major reform of Medicare's reimbursement system for physician-administered drugs (Part B), the vast majority of which are chemotherapy agents.