Primary care provider uptake of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in Medicare patients, 2013-2019.

<h4>Background</h4>The delivery of Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) for obesity by primary care providers (PCPs) has been covered by Medicare to support elderly individuals with obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) in managing their weight since 2011 for individual therapy and 2015 for group th...

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Main Authors: Mounira Ozoor, Mark Gritz, Rowena J Dolor, Jodi Summers Holtrop, Zhehui Luo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266217
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author Mounira Ozoor
Mark Gritz
Rowena J Dolor
Jodi Summers Holtrop
Zhehui Luo
author_facet Mounira Ozoor
Mark Gritz
Rowena J Dolor
Jodi Summers Holtrop
Zhehui Luo
author_sort Mounira Ozoor
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>The delivery of Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) for obesity by primary care providers (PCPs) has been covered by Medicare to support elderly individuals with obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) in managing their weight since 2011 for individual therapy and 2015 for group therapy. We conducted a cohort study of PCPs in an attempt to understand patterns of uptake of IBT for obesity services among PCPs serving the Medicare population across the U.S.<h4>Methods</h4>We used the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Provider Utilization and Payment Data from 2013 to 2019 to identify all PCPs who served more than 10 Medicare beneficiaries in each of the seven-year period to form a longitudinal panel. The procedure codes G0447 and G0473 were used to identify PCPs who provided IBT; and the characteristics of these providers were compared by the IBT-uptake status.<h4>Results</h4>Of the 537,754 eligible PCPs who served Medicare patients in any of the seven years, only 1.2% were found to be IBT service providers in at least one year from 2013 through 2019 (246 always users, 1,358 early adopters, and 4,563 late adopters). IBT providers shared a few common characteristics: they were more likely to be male, internal medicine providers, saw a higher number of Medicare beneficiaries, and practiced in the South and Northeast regions. Having higher proportion of patients with hyperlipidemia was associated with higher likelihood of a provider being an IBT-user.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Very few PCPs continuously billed IBT services for Medicare patients with obesity. Further investigation is needed to mitigate barriers to the uptake of IBT services among PCPs.
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spelling doaj.art-b11884a209d6414ebb02b9e13a55e0a02023-04-12T05:32:47ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01183e026621710.1371/journal.pone.0266217Primary care provider uptake of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in Medicare patients, 2013-2019.Mounira OzoorMark GritzRowena J DolorJodi Summers HoltropZhehui Luo<h4>Background</h4>The delivery of Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) for obesity by primary care providers (PCPs) has been covered by Medicare to support elderly individuals with obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) in managing their weight since 2011 for individual therapy and 2015 for group therapy. We conducted a cohort study of PCPs in an attempt to understand patterns of uptake of IBT for obesity services among PCPs serving the Medicare population across the U.S.<h4>Methods</h4>We used the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Provider Utilization and Payment Data from 2013 to 2019 to identify all PCPs who served more than 10 Medicare beneficiaries in each of the seven-year period to form a longitudinal panel. The procedure codes G0447 and G0473 were used to identify PCPs who provided IBT; and the characteristics of these providers were compared by the IBT-uptake status.<h4>Results</h4>Of the 537,754 eligible PCPs who served Medicare patients in any of the seven years, only 1.2% were found to be IBT service providers in at least one year from 2013 through 2019 (246 always users, 1,358 early adopters, and 4,563 late adopters). IBT providers shared a few common characteristics: they were more likely to be male, internal medicine providers, saw a higher number of Medicare beneficiaries, and practiced in the South and Northeast regions. Having higher proportion of patients with hyperlipidemia was associated with higher likelihood of a provider being an IBT-user.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Very few PCPs continuously billed IBT services for Medicare patients with obesity. Further investigation is needed to mitigate barriers to the uptake of IBT services among PCPs.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266217
spellingShingle Mounira Ozoor
Mark Gritz
Rowena J Dolor
Jodi Summers Holtrop
Zhehui Luo
Primary care provider uptake of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in Medicare patients, 2013-2019.
PLoS ONE
title Primary care provider uptake of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in Medicare patients, 2013-2019.
title_full Primary care provider uptake of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in Medicare patients, 2013-2019.
title_fullStr Primary care provider uptake of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in Medicare patients, 2013-2019.
title_full_unstemmed Primary care provider uptake of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in Medicare patients, 2013-2019.
title_short Primary care provider uptake of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in Medicare patients, 2013-2019.
title_sort primary care provider uptake of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in medicare patients 2013 2019
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266217
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