According to a new statistical brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, almost half of visits for office-based physician care in 2004 were to physicians in general practice, family practice, internal medicine, or pediatrics--but less than one-third of aggregate expenditures were for visits to these types of physicians. Private insurance paid for nearly half (48.3%) and Medicare paid for just over one-fifth (21.%) of all expenditures for these visits. Out-of-pocket payments by individuals and families was the third largest source of payment category, comprising 14.1% of total expenditures for office-based physician care.
Among the specialty types examined, average expenses per visit were lowest for primary care providers, pediatricians, and psychiatrists, and were highest (at least twice as large) for ophthalmologists, orthopedists, and cardiologists.
