Medicare billing data from 2012 to 2014 revealed four of the top 10 most rapidly growing Medicare services involved new devices, based on a Wall Street Journal analysis.
Here are five things to know:
1. From 2012 to 2014, the four device-related Medicare services increased to $135 million.
2. The analysis discovered less than 10 percent of physicians contributed to more than half the rise in spending for each of the four increasing services. That is, a small group of physicians picked up the services at a faster rate than their colleagues.
3. In 2014, Medicare paid providers for 11,448 services.
4. Medicare determines prices for services based on cost and required time estimates.
5. For new services, regulators may just have to guess, adjusting payment later.