Saylor, Drew K.

Abstract Mohs Surgery from 2016 to 2022: Declining Medicaid Reimbursement and ACA Expansion Impact Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is the standard of care for many nonmelanoma skin cancers, yet access remains highly variable due to low reimbursement rates. Only 39.5% of Mohs surgeons nationally accept Medicaid. While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion improved coverage for low-income adults, its effects on dermatologic reimbursement remain unclear. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of inflation-adjusted Medicaid reimbursement trends for MMS and determines whether ACA Medicaid expansion translated into improved payment rates. Average physician reimbursement per patient for MMS procedures (CPT codes 17311–17314) from 2016 to 2022 was extracted from a large insurance claims database and adjusted for inflation to 2022 U.S. dollars. States were categorized by Medicaid expansion status, and linear regression assessed reimbursement trends. Between 2016 and 2022, national weighted average reimbursement for MMS first stage (CPT 17311) declined 18.33%, while MMS additional stages (CPT 17312) decreased 25.52% (p = 0.0182). When stratified by expansion status, CPT 17311 reimbursement declined − 5.71% in expansion states versus increasing + 5.80% in non-expansion states (p = 0.00121). Reimbursement for non-high-risk anatomic areas declined 26.10% and 32.6%, respectively. Inflation-adjusted Medicaid payments for MMS declined substantially from 2016 to 2022, with greater reductions in Medicaid expansion states. While ACA expansion increased coverage, it introduced financial pressures through lower fee schedules, potentially threatening physician participation and access to essential dermatologic surgery for vulnerable populations.

BACKGROUND The use of Mohs micrographic surgery as a treatment for melanoma is rising, but the reliability of Mohs surgeons in assessing MART-1 melanoma en-face margins has not been evaluated. OBJECTIVE To evaluate interrater and intrarater reliability of Mohs surgeons in interpreting margins of early-stage melanoma. METHODS Twenty Mohs surgeons were asked to independently review images of frozen section MART-1 en-face peripheral margins of in situ or early-stage melanoma. Surgeons determined margins as positive or negative at initial evaluation and 6 weeks later. Primary outcomes were interrater and intrarater reliability. RESULTS Interrater agreement was 84.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 75.5%–92.8%) for assessment 1 and 87.5% (95% CI: 78.4%–96.4%) for assessment 2, with kappa values 0.68 (95% CI: 0.50–0.82) and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.57–0.88). Average intrarater percent agreement was 95.0% (95% CI: 70.6%–100.0%) with average kappa 0.90 (95% CI: 0.50–1.00). CONCLUSION Substantial interrater and nearly perfect intrarater agreement was identified among surgeons assessing melanoma margins utilizing MART-1 immunostaining, demonstrating consistent and reproducible assessment of melanoma margins during Mohs cases.

Background: Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is a promising treatment modality for melanoma in situ (MIS). However, variations in surgical technique limit the generalizability of existing data and may impede future study of MMS in clinical trials. Methods: A modified Delphi method was selected to establish consensus on optimal MMS techniques for treating MIS in future clinical trials. The Delphi method was selected due to the limited current data, the wide range of techniques used in the field, and the intention to establish a standardized technique for future clinical trials. A literature review and interviews with experienced MMS surgeons were performed to identify dimensions of the MMS technique for MIS that (1) likely impacted costs or outcomes of the procedure, and (2) showed significant variability between surgeons. A total of 8 dimensions of technical variation were selected. The Delphi process consisted of 2 rounds of voting and commentary, during which 44 expert Mohs surgeons across the United States rated their agreement with specific recommendations using a Likert scale. Results: Five of eight recommendations achieved consensus in Round 1. All 3 of the remaining recommendations achieved consensus in Round 2. Techniques achieving consensus in Round 1 included the use of a starting peripheral margin of ≤5 mm, application of immunohistochemistry, frozen tissue processing, and resecting to the depth of subcutaneous fat. Consensus on the use of Wood’s lamp, dermatoscope, and negative tissue controls was established in Round 2. Conclusions: This study generated 8 consensus recommendations intended to offer guidance for Mohs surgeons treating MIS. The adoption of these recommendations will promote standardization to facilitate comparisons of aggregate data in multicenter clinical trials.