The Elite profit from medicare!! Doctor's collect $77 billion from Medicare

One ophthalmologist from West Palm Beach, Fla., collected nearly $21 million, while a cardiologist from Ocala, Fla., received $18 million in 2012. Seven doctors pulled in more than $10 million in payments, while nearly 4,000 are Medicare millionaires.
The doctors' payments were part of an unprecedented data release, which covers 880,000 physicians, therapists, labs and other medical facilities. Medicare paid providers a total of $77 billion in 2012 to care for more than 50 million of the nation's elderly and disabled, according to federal statistics released Wednesday. These figures do not include what doctors collect from patients in co-pays or from private insurers for non-Medicare patients.

The data release marks the first time the government has made public detailed information on the services and procedures provided to Medicare patients by individual doctors. It also shows what health care professionals billed the government and what they were paid.

A small share of doctors account for a large percentage of payments. The top 2% of physicians collected nearly a quarter of Medicare payments. Ophthalmologists, cardiologists and blood cancer doctors were the most represented among this group, both in terms of numbers and payments from Medicare.

Doctor's collect %77 billions from Medicare

So you wanna debate how the poor is taking too much from this country while the elite keep on getting richer. Read it and weep can you show me how the poor are becoming rich off of medicare because the above shows you how the elite are...

Perhaps making this kind of info public will allow better oversight of the nefarious billing practices some doctors engage in.

From the linked article

The doctors' data release follows a Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General report last year that warned about fraud concerns among high billers.

The inspector general report looked at the $65 billion Medicare paid out in each year between 2008 and 2011. Approximately 2% of physicians were responsible for almost 25% Medicare payments, each pulling in more than $500,000 annually.

The inspector general found that of the 303 doctors who each provided more than $3 million of services in 2009, more than 100 were flagged for improper payment reviews. Three had their medical licenses suspended and two were indicted. And reviewers found overpayments of more than $34 million.

Question
Should there be a upper wage cap for anyone accepting government money?

Such as a doctor that accepts Medicaid cannot accept more than say..I don't know...1,000 an hour or something?

I think that may be a good start.

Ain't life grand, or worth a bit more?
I got friend who's hubby had to have his pace maker replaced 3 times in 3 days and got a bill for 300 grand. Apparently doctors do not have the same guidelines a contractor has, and can bill you even if their equipment is faulty or improperly installed.

SaturnFX
Question
Should there be a upper wage cap for anyone accepting government money?

Such as a doctor that accepts Medicaid cannot accept more than say..I don't know...1,000 an hour or something?

I think that may be a good start.

Yes, I could not agree more.
I have never met anyone let alone a Dr, worth that kinda money.

reply to post by LDragonFire

One ophthalmologist from West Palm Beach, Fla., collected nearly $21 million, while a cardiologist from Ocala, Fla., received $18 million in 2012. Seven doctors pulled in more than $10 million in payments, while nearly 4,000 are Medicare millionaires.

So cut the pay in half and they only get

$10.5 million.

$9 million.

etc. etc.

It's criminal and there ought to be a law !!!

Despicable and filthy.

Im2keul

SaturnFX
Question
Should there be a upper wage cap for anyone accepting government money?

Such as a doctor that accepts Medicaid cannot accept more than say..I don't know...1,000 an hour or something?

I think that may be a good start.

Yes, I could not agree more.
I have never met anyone let alone a Dr, worth that kinda money.

I was talking to a doctor actually. he will do a person to person non insurance test for say $150.
The same procedure if going through an insurance he will tack on a 0 at the end then triple it..the insurance fights a little bit, and they typically negotiate somewhere about 2/3rds of where it was at. that's a proper insurance company. Medicare I imagine he simply robs.

corruption is rife in the industry...not medicare, but the doctors themselves....because I guess its the norm.

xuenchen
It's criminal and there ought to be a law !!!

Dear Xuenchen
Yes, I agree

Think about that.


Meaning you are now forced to alter your view into the irrational


Your suggesting a service provided shouldn't get paid what the price is, and instead, the big bad government should come in and interject law into the free market medical industry...

...
I find it best to stretch before doing the mental gymnastics you must do to stay ideologically pure yet get past corrupt private practice doctors.

reply to post by SaturnFX


That sounds about right.

reply to post by SaturnFX


No.

I'm suggesting that much double billing takes place.

Can't imagine why.

xuenchen
It's criminal and there ought to be a law !!!

Wow you want more government, I think we will all be bookmarking this one...

Just kidding, I think there should be better (and more transparent) oversight when the government spends any of our money.

Elton

xuenchen
It's criminal and there ought to be a law !!!

Wow you want more government, I think we will all be bookmarking this one...

Just kidding, I think there should be better (and more transparent) oversight when the government spends any of our money.

I think many government ways of doing business are the cause of most of the corruption.

The medical industry is flush with lobbyists etc.

Perhaps the inefficiencies of CMS are causing the problems that they can't enforce.

I wonder if criminal organizations are operating in the billing and accounting offices of doctors and medical facilities?

Organizations that are well connected.

Many administrative contractors are used by Medicare and Medicaid on the Federal and State levels too.

This may be larger than we think.

Big money = Big people in kahootz.

reply to post by SaturnFX


from what I've seen the wealth of doctors vary, or can vary a lot.

I think overall there is a problem of profit-driven medicine, or more accurately profit for individuals.


Price Gouging like this, especially from the government, is or can be an individual case, or might be more complicated than we realize, but in the end, there is a way to fix this using the same amount of power the government currently has, just redistributed to benefit the general citizenry rather than the monied interests whome would still be powerful regardless of government in the sheer concentraition of wealth they posess.

But but these doctors work so much harder than everyone else and spend their youth in school! Whine!!! This is disgusting! Doctors should be ashamed of their profession. That's why you'll never see an out of work doctor or one that actually has to compete in the job market. They are a bunch of government junkies.

I wonder if criminal organizations are operating in the b

reply to post by xuenchen


I saw a news show like 20/20 or 60 minutes a few years ago. Was definitely some criminal organizations involved. They would set up the false front stores claiming to sell medical equipment. Oxygen, wheelchairs etc...and bill medicare. The thing is they never sold anything. One lady noticed she was being billed 10s of thousands of dollars for stuff she never needed or received. She actually contacted medicare and they told her it was easier to let it slide as they didnt have the personnel to investigate.

The news crew went to the address used and the store was there and then gone the next day.

tinner07

I wonder if criminal organizations are operating in the b

reply to post by xuenchen

 

I saw a news show like 20/20 or 60 minutes a few years ago. Was definitely some criminal organizations involved. They would set up the false front stores claiming to sell medical equipment. Oxygen, wheelchairs etc...and bill medicare. The thing is they never sold anything. One lady noticed she was being billed 10s of thousands of dollars for stuff she never needed or received. She actually contacted medicare and they told her it was easier to let it slide as they didnt have the personnel to investigate.

The news crew went to the address used and the store was there and then gone the next day.

I remember that one.

There's a lot of "hit & run" outfits like that.

The ones inside the industry are long term I fear.

Big Mafia deal IMO.