Annals of emergency medicine
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The change in reimbursement rates for emergency physician services has yet to be quantified. We attempted to fill this knowledge gap by evaluating the monetary trends in Medicare reimbursement rates over the last 20 years for the most common emergency medicine services. ⋯ When adjusted for inflation, Medicare reimbursement declined by an average of 29% over the last 20 years for the 20 most common emergency medicine services. Knowledge of these trends is essential to address current controversies in emergency medicine billing adequately and advocate for sustainable payment system reform.