Groups in California Take Aim at Medicare Payments

Good story to watch, especially if you practice in California and perhaps in one of the 5 counties involved in the claim..BD

Five California counties stirred things up last month with a claim that Medicare is underpaying health providers in their areas. Two days later, a barely noticed companion claim was filed -- also in California -- and that one might cause an even bigger fuss.
The second claim contends that Medicare is paying doctors too much in dozens of California counties and many other parts of the country.
Filed "on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries nationally who reside in counties with unreasonably high Medicare reimbursement rates," the claim, by Stockton attorney William Parish, could affect millions of people and shift millions of reimbursement dollars.

"The rest of the country is keenly interested in what happens," said Dario de Ghetaldi. He's the lead attorney for San Diego, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Marin and Sonoma counties, the five California counties hoping to get retroactive raises for doctors all over the country. "I don't think anything like this has been attempted before, and the implications are very significant."

Source: Groups in California Take Aim at Medicare Payments - California Healthline