2022 saw historic drops in Part B utilization and payment; tests rise

Why This Topic Matters

Understanding year-to-year Medicare Part B trends helps organizations track billing mix, reimbursement movement, and emerging utilization patterns that may affect operational planning and coding awareness.

Article Sections

1. Medicare Part B utilization and payment trends

   This section summarizes year-over-year changes in overall claims volume and total payments under Medicare Part B. It frames the broader trend context for the rest of the article.

2. Most-billed codes in 2022

   This section discusses the leading billed items in the 2022 claims data and how the ranking compared with prior years. It highlights broad movement among commonly billed products and services.

3. COVID-related billing activity and denial rate note

   This section covers the appearance of a new COVID-era billing item in the rankings and a separate note about a high denial-rate claim. It focuses on how pandemic-related billing affected the claims landscape.