A comprehensive analysis of Medicare trends in utilization and hospital economics for total knee and hip arthroplasty from 2005 to 2011.

The purpose of this study was to determine annual Medicare utilization and hospital reimbursement rates for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA). A PearlDiver review of the entire Medicare database was conducted: 2,040,667 TKAs and 855, 899 THAs performed between 2005 and 2011 were identified. There was a +0.05% and +1.3% year over year growth in the utilization in hospital reimbursement for TKA and THA respectively. There has only been a modest increase in joint arthroplasty utilization for Medicare beneficiaries. Supply side issues, insurance mix and possible prior over-projection may explain this finding. Reimbursement trends suggest that joint arthroplasty may not be a major cost driver for the healthcare system.