Medicare Archives

Social Justice

Why Are Obstetricians Among the Top Billers for Group Psychotherapy in Illinois?

Illinois leads the country in group psychotherapy sessions in Medicare, and some top billers aren’t mental health specialists. The state’s Medicaid program has cracked down, but federal officials have not.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

How a Fanny Pack Mix-Up Unraveled a Massive Medicare Fraud Scheme

Two secretaries in a doctor’s office have pleaded guilty and a pharmacy owner faces charges in a scam that Medicare allowed to thrive for more than two years.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Health Care Is a Huge Business, but It’s Not the Doctors Who Are Making the Most Money

The anti-Obamacare rhetoric has railed against a “government takeover” of medicine but it’s not the government that’s coming between doctors and patients, it’s the insurance companies.

Jay Livingston

Social Justice

Digging Through the Medicare Data Dump: Billing Outliers Often Have Disciplinary Problems, Too

As news organizations analyze data on Medicare payments, doctors with disciplinary records keep popping up.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Why Is Medicare Overpaying Billions for Office Visits and Patient Evaluations?

The findings by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services complement a recent review that found many doctors bill for services very differently than their peers.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Medicare Finally Tightens the Reins on Its Drug Program

Medicare gives itself the power to ban physicians if they prescribe medications in abusive ways.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Top Billing: Meet the Doctors Who Charge Medicare Top Dollar for Office Visits

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.

Charles Ornstein & Ryann Grochowski Jones

Social Justice

The High Cost of Living With Cancer

The biggest pharmaceutical companies are celebrating huge profits while their patients struggle to afford their cancer-fighting drugs.

June M. McKoy

Social Justice

Even After Doctors Are Sanctioned or Arrested, Medicare Keeps Paying

An analysis of recently released data shows that dozens of physicians who received payments from Medicare in 2012 had been kicked out of Medicaid, charged with fraud, or settled claims of overbilling Medicare itself.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

A Better Way to Pick the Doctor That’s Right for You

For years, patients have had few ways to compare doctors beyond their reputations. With a huge Medicare data release, that may soon change.

Charles Ornstein