In a new partnership with Yelp, ProPublica has been given unprecedented access to the rating site’s 1.3 million reviews of health-care providers. One dental chain attracted 3,000 reviews, the vast majority bad.
Medicare paid for more than 200 million office visits for established patients in 2012. Overall, health professionals classified only four percent as complex enough to command the most expensive rates. But 1,800 providers billed at the top level at least 90 percent of the time. Experts question whether the charges are legitimate.