In 2005, a yearlong federal government study paid cancer doctors a combined $275 million for assessing their patient's side effects from chemotherapy. Now many other doctors and lawmakers feel that the study was a waste of money and that its findings will be of no real use to healthcare providers. Chemotherapy providers were given $130 every time they reported their patients' side effects. But HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson noted, "we identified numerous anomalies and gaps in the data and collection methods." Doctors were reimbursed a median of $23,000, with some receiving ten times that. Medicaid officials defend the program, saying it successfully managed to get doctors to report on quality data. This data can lead to process improvement and better outcomes in the future.
For more on the controversy:
- read this report [1] from the AP
Links:
[1] http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060829/ap_on_he_me/medicare_chemotherapy_payments