WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2014 • NWHERALD.COM • 75¢
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County jail agreement approved Board accepts more money for inmates, airs concerns By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Jo Ann Collins of Harvard (left) is examined by Dr. Aslam Zahir before her chemotherapy Tuesday in Woodstock. Federal data show that a small portion of U.S. doctors, particularly ophthalmologists and oncologists collect the vast majority of Medicare payments. But a local oncologist says the numbers are misleading.
Giving context to the costs Area health care providers say newly released Medicare payment data doesn’t tell the whole story WOODSTOCK – Dr. Aslam Zahir runs his Woodstock office like a miniature hospital – complete with nurses, support staff and the tools to administer chemotherapy drugs to treat cancer patients. But the public, he said, can’t extrapolate those details from newly released government data the Obama administration has hailed as an unprecedented transparency move to spotlight medical services physicians across the country provide and how much they receive in Medicare to do it. The data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show that $77 billion in Medicare payments went to more than 880,000 doctors and other medical providers in 2012 for doctor visits, treatments and tests typically done outside a hospital. Of that total, physicians in McHenry County received more than $45.7 million in Medicare payments. Like other area medical professionals, Zahir said the massive data release is a “disservice to the public” since it lacks context and potentially could confuse the public on the issue of health care costs. “There is a discord between what is going on with Medicare payments and what is happening with me,” Zahir said. “Medicare is paying, but the Medicare is paying for drug costs, and the drug costs are rising higher.” Zahir received $1.68 million in Medicare payments in 2012. Others at his Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology clinic
received payments of $1.76 million and $1.55 million. His office, with locations in Woodstock, McHenry, Huntley, Elgin and Hoffman Estates, ranked near the top in McHenry County with the most Medicare payments. The average Medicare payment for physicians specializing in hematology and oncology was $463,844. Most of the annual Medicare payments covers drug costs to treat cancer patients directly inside Zahir’s offices. The numbers released by the federal government, he said, make it seem like he is directly profiting off Medicare. Medicare fraud is one reason why Dow Jones and Co., which owns the Wall Street Journal, sought to overturn an injunction the American Medical Association won in 1979 to prevent the release of doctor-specific Medicare information. A federal judge in Florida vacated the injunction in 2011, and the victory came with the recent government release of doctor billing data. But physicians like Zahir contend the data has limitations and puts honest physicians in an unfair light. The data only includes information on Medicare Part B, the fee-for-service reimbursement available to doctors who work outside of hospitals. Certain specialties, such as oncology, rank high because of high drug costs, while some practices bill Medicare charges for multiple physicians under one supervisor. “I support the fact that providing data is good,” Zahir said. “But providing data
See MEDICARE, page A6
LOCALLY SPEAKING
Spotlight on Medicare payments
$77 billion in Medicare payments in 2012 went to more than
880,000 doctors and other medical providers for visits, treatments and tests done outside a hospital
$45.7 million Medicare payments received by physicians in McHenry County
Dr. Aslam Zahir, physician in Woodstock
Erin Ginsberg Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
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Quinn’s troubled program faces more scrutiny By KERRY LESTER and CHACOUR KOOP SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Pat Quinn’s troubled anti-violence program faces another layer of scrutiny after a legislative panel approved subpoena powers for itself Tuesday to dig into how the program’s money was spent before and after Quinn’s election campaign in 2010. The bipartisan committee acted as more details emerged about Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, with a prominent Democrat, Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown, acknowledging that she worked for a nonprofit founded by her husband that
received money through it. The Legislative Audit Commission, which helps review the use of public funds, voted 10-1 in favor of the rarely used maneuver to look into the 2010 program, which critics have likened to a “political slush fund.” Already it is the subject of a scathing state auditor’s report for mismanagement and spending as well as federal and Cook County probes. “We’ve got to get to the bottom of this,” said state Sen. Jason Barickman, a Bloomington Republican on the committee. Barickman did not detail how he wanted the panel to proceed on the matter, but spoke of gathering a list of witnesses who could testify about it. The committee’s vote followed Brown’s acknowledgment that she had worked
See QUINN, page A6
SCHOOL OFFICIALS TALK PARTNERSHIPS
CRYSTAL LAKE: Seniors lead charge for Prairie Ridge girls soccer in 4-0 win over McHenry. Sports, C1
Where to find it Advice Business Buzz Classified
See JAIL, page A6
CRYSTAL LAKE Leadership from Community High School District 155, District 47, District 46, District 26 and District 3 held a joint meeting Tuesday to discuss more partnership opportunities. Administrators from all districts presented a variety of information to board members in attendance. For more, see page B1.
Prairie Ridge’s Arielis Reyes
rates last set in 2008. But the increase only pares down the county’s net loss for accepting federal inmates. Several estimates have placed that cost between $106 and $131, but critics have pointed out that no solid figure exists. “We are paying for the privilege of housing these people,” said Diane Evertsen, R-Harvard. “The question we’ve never had answered is, how much?”
Lawmakers OK use of subpoena powers
The Associated Press
There is a discord between what is going on with Medicare payments and what is happening with me. Medicare is paying, but the Medicare is paying for drug costs, and the drug costs are rising higher."
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By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com
WOODSTOCK – McHenry County Board members critical of a money-losing contract to house federal inmates at the county jail took advantage of a $10 increase in the per diem rate to ask tough questions and air their concerns. County Board members voted Tuesday, 17-5 with two absent, to accept an intergovernmental agreement increasing the rate it gets from the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Under the new agreement, the rate will increase from $85 to $95 an inmate per day, and the hourly rate for transporting inmates will increase from $34 to $46.48. The new agreement replaces
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