Medicare Overpaid for Radiation Treatments, IG Reports

Medicare lost tens of millions of dollars overpaying for radiation treatments for cancer patients, the HHS Inspector General reported.

The IG reviewed nearly $577 million in Medicare payments to three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy treatment plans between fiscal 2008 and 2017. More than $125 million went in unnecessary payments to hospitals for the same treatment—in part because the additional payments were billed on separate days.

The IG urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to introduce new billing requirements—including, for example, a bundled payment system—to prevent overpayments.