A Washington Post review of data from Florida outpatient surgery centers discovered that some gastroenterologists and other physicians were being paid for doing procedures that would add up to more than 12 hours a day -- in some cases, more than 24 hours a day. This isn’t because the doctors are over-billing; it’s because the estimates of how long procedures take are being distorted by the panel that writes them, a committee of the American Medical Association.
Health policy consultant Brian Klepper of Atlantic Beach has been trying to call attention to this problem for years.
