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Diving deeper into causes of medical debt

New data reveal differences in billings for similar procedures and overbilling trends exactly the kinds of situations employers are attempting to control.

By Dan Cook | Updated on October 13, 2014
(Image courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee/FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Efforts by employer groups to establish caps on medical procedures and identify quality providers may get a boost from data derived from Medicare and other data bases by a patient advocacy group. The data reveal vast differences in billings for similar procedures, and uncovered major overbilling trends — exactly the kinds of situations employers are attempting to control.

The advocacy group NerdWallet released its findings based upon three areas of research: analyzing federal data from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare; consulting the Association of Credit and Collections Professionals; and commissioning a Harris Poll that gathered input from 2,000 consumers on health care spending.

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.

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