Physician fee levels: Medicare versus Canada.

Adjusted for differences in purchasing power and practice expenses, Canadian physician fees are, on average, 59 percent of Medicare fees. The general perception that Medicare fees are low is the result of comparison with U.S. private fees, not to the much lower Canadian fees. In the context of the current U.S. health care system, lowering Medicare fees to Canadian levels could jeopardize access to care by Medicare beneficiaries. However, if all payers used the same fee schedule, fees that differed substantially from those currently used by private insurers might be viable.