Release of Medicare doctor payments shows some huge payouts

[unhappycamper]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-medicare-doctor-pay-20140409,0,6562889.story



Some physicians received more than $10 million in 2012, data show, but the government and doctors warn the figures can be misleading.

Release of Medicare doctor payments shows some huge payouts
By Chad Terhune, Noam N. Levey and Doug Smith
April 8, 2014, 9:00 p.m.

Ending decades of secrecy, Medicare is showing what the giant healthcare program for seniors pays individual doctors, and the figures reveal that more than a dozen physicians received in excess of $10 million each in 2012.

The Obama administration is releasing a detailed account Wednesday of $77 billion in government payouts to more than 880,000 healthcare providers nationwide that year. The release of payment records involving doctors has been legally blocked since 1979, but recent court rulings removed those obstacles. No personal information on patients is disclosed.

The two highest-paid doctors listed in the Medicare data are already under government review because of suspected improper billing. They include an ophthalmologist in the retiree haven of West Palm Beach, Fla., who topped the list by taking in more than $26 million to treat fewer than 900 patients. That is 61 times the average Medicare payout of $430,000 for an ophthalmologist.

A Florida cardiologist received $23 million in Medicare payments in 2012, nearly 80 times the average amount for that specialty. One California doctor was in the top 10 nationwide: a Newport Beach oncologist who was paid $11 million that year.

[mountain grammy]

1. Like the Medicare fraud governor, they should all be in prison..

[Enthusiast]

5. +1 a whole bunch!

You are so right, Grammy!

[wolfie001]

2. Medicine's version of Bernie Madoff, Goddamit!!!! nt

[maindawg]

3. This is a crime

Millions of people suffer at the hands of the industry while a few get absurdly rich stealing every-fucking-thing and no one cares.
I took my nieghbor to the doctor a few weeks ago. She had some x rays, a consultation with one dr, a consultation with a second doctor[the surgeon] and a shot to relieve the stress in her bursa sac.
They billed medicare 1500 dollars. Now the shot costed 73 dollars. The xrays were like 150.

You would say that is a bit much.Fine. Because yesterday she received another bill for the same visit and that bill is for 11,000 dollars.

Is it a mistakes? Did they send her someone else's bill by mistake? She called them and they didnt seem alarmed at all. She is an old woman. But I was with her. I was with her in the office throughout the whole affair.

The hospitals are stealing from us. The insurance companies are thieves. The doctors are even in on the scam.

When did doctors become millioniares?

[wolfie001]

4. I work in a part of Maryland where......

....there's a lot of doctor's living and I remember the vitriol some expressed at the Edward's campaign of 2004 where he decided to take on the Health Care debate. You can see the 5-car garaged houses and castle-like appearance of the mansions. To feed a huge, carnivorous lifestyle like that requires many millions, most if not all at the expense of American taxpayers. No wonder they're grinding the masses into gristle.

[Enthusiast]

7. If it isn't a crime it sure to hell should be.

It is draining us.

[KoKo]

12. I wouldn't blame Medicare for this though...it's the Reimbursements that Med/Pharma are

pushing into the insurance industry which is in collaberation with it all. Medicare is better monitored than the rest of Private Insurance...but whatever your insurance is when you get your Hospital Bill for $40. for an Aspirin on your printed bill at sign out...you gotta know that this is corruption at the highest. Particularly since you didn't request or take an aspirin but it was listed on your bill. You are checking out after surgery and you just want to get the "hell outta there" so you aren't going to cause a big stink if your insurance pays for it... (but your insurance NEVER pays for ALL OF IT) so somewhere in your Co-Pay...you will be paying for a part of that $40. Aspirin you never took but SOMEONE put on your bill.

Personal Experience with this issue... just saying.

[Enthusiast]

6. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch.

Why can't we do something about this?

[erpowers]

8. Mothers Do Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Doctors n/t

[KoKo]

11. This is NOT ALL DOCTORS...though. And that this is released Now...when these few

doctors to the RICH should have been caught before now...does seem a bit strange.

Ya Think?

[mopinko]

9. please note that this is a big thing

there is a couple tons of demographic data about healthcare and the elderly locked in the medicare records. think about it.
but those figures have been tightly guarded for just this reason. the fraud is there for all to see if they can get any kinda peak at the records.
this is just the sort of sneaky shit that these guys have been doing since 2009, changing things for the better in small quiet ways.

[KoKo]

13. See Post #10 for a bit of questioning...of WHY NOW...and WHO....

[KoKo]

10. I worry it's an Attack on Medicare,though. Seriously,why did it take so long to release this info.

By releasing this now. It certainly sounds like people (1%) are abusing this....but, why was this only now addressed?

It reminds me of the Reagan "Welfare Queens" Promotion...that filtered down to Clinton promoting the "Welfare Reform Act" which cracked down on abuse but ultimately hurt thousands of Welfare Recipients and their children.

I'm just saying...I hope these Criminal Doctors get their licenses REVOKED...but, I worry this is just Repugs pushing Obama to do the Cuts to Medicare that were what he was told he should do.

[mopinko]

14. iirc, obama admin has vigorously prosecuted fraud in all public programs.

damn you obama.

[KoKo]

15. ahhh...that would explain it...n/t