Data Analysis
Medicare Costs by Specialty in Michigan
Medicare reimbursement rates vary significantly across medical specialties. This analysis examines average Medicare payments per service for providers in Michigan, ranked by reimbursement level. Understanding these differences helps contextualize specialty costs and resource allocation across the healthcare system.
Context: Industry payments to physicians are legally required to be disclosed under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.
Receiving payments does not imply wrongdoing. Payments may reflect consulting expertise, research participation, or speaking engagements.
This data is provided to support transparency, not to render clinical judgments.
Average Medicare Payment by Specialty — Michigan
CMS Open Payments| # | Specialty | Avg Medicare Payment | Providers | Total Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thoracic Surgery | $267 | 76 | 11,841 |
| 2 | Plastic Surgery Within the Head and Neck (Plastic Surgery) Physician | $217 | 2 | 45 |
| 3 | Clinical Genetics (M.D.) Physician | $204 | 3 | 1,196 |
| 4 | Transplant Surgery Physician | $193 | 10 | 915 |
| 5 | Phlebology Physician | $177 | 1 | 92 |
| 6 | Plastic Surgery | $176 | 49 | 14,366 |
| 7 | Hospice and Palliative Medicine (Obstetrics & Gynecology) Physician | $143 | 2 | 369 |
| 8 | Vascular Surgery | $137 | 15 | 2,792 |
| 9 | MOHS-Micrographic Surgery Physician | $136 | 20 | 53,036 |
| 10 | Neurological Surgery | $136 | 151 | 48,287 |
| 11 | Ph.D. Medical Genetics | $132 | 1 | 125 |
| 12 | Epilepsy Physician | $131 | 3 | 632 |
| 13 | Surgical Oncology Physician | $129 | 15 | 1,704 |
| 14 | Pharmacy | $125 | 2 | 735 |
| 15 | Pediatric Emergency Medicine | $124 | 2 | 184 |
| 16 | Pharmacotherapy Pharmacist | $122 | 1 | 457 |
| 17 | Pediatric Gastroenterology | $120 | 3 | 235 |
| 18 | Sports Medicine (Emergency Medicine) Physician | $117 | 2 | 341 |
| 19 | Clinical Electrophysiology Physical Therapist | $115 | 1 | 434 |
| 20 | Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine Physician | $113 | 26 | 18,699 |
| 21 | Transplant Hepatology Physician | $112 | 2 | 797 |
| 22 | Addiction Medicine (Preventive Medicine) Physician | $112 | 1 | 94 |
| 23 | Intermediate Emergency Medical Technician | $111 | 1 | 115 |
| 24 | Radiology - Diagnostic | $108 | 130 | 238,003 |
| 25 | Electroneurodiagnostic Specialist/Technologist | $107 | 1 | 174 |
| 26 | Colon & Rectal Surgery | $105 | 32 | 10,544 |
| 27 | Paramedic | $102 | 2 | 87 |
| 28 | Sonography Radiologic Technologist | $102 | 1 | 3,071 |
| 29 | Neurocritical Care Physician | $100 | 10 | 3,262 |
| 30 | Pediatric Cardiology | $99 | 1 | 278 |
State payment context — Michigan
CMS Open PaymentsAcross 50,782 Michigan providers with at least one disclosed industry payment over 2018–2024, the median provider received $318 in total payments, compared with a national median of $339 across 1,571,086 paid providers.
Michigan accounts for 2.6% of the $16,205,257,917 in industry payments recorded nationwide in this database, and its per-provider median runs below the national benchmark.
Top specialties by median industry payment — Michigan
| Specialty | Median per provider | Providers paid | Total payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Physician | $12,489 | 47 | $1,539,779 |
| Sports Medicine (Orthopaedic Surgery) Physician | $11,967 | 54 | $8,262,024 |
| Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine Physician | $11,238 | 31 | $2,800,160 |
| Adult Reconstructive Orthopaedic Surgery Physician | $9,197 | 33 | $12,467,081 |
| Interventional Cardiology | $7,150 | 77 | $5,870,541 |
Industry payments in Michigan by year
| Year | Total payments | Providers paid | Transactions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $55,463,516 | 19,797 | 330,041 |
| 2019 | $93,113,428 | 19,458 | 308,036 |
| 2020 | $38,117,541 | 14,911 | 160,908 |
| 2021 | $47,672,888 | 23,329 | 322,958 |
| 2022 | $57,703,315 | 27,128 | 392,250 |
| 2023 | $62,333,142 | 29,809 | 438,033 |
| 2024 | $66,712,437 | 31,615 | 467,366 |
Methodology
Average Medicare payment per service calculated from Medicare Part B Utilization data for providers licensed in Michigan. Only specialties with at least one recorded procedure are included. Average reflects the mean of per-service payment amounts across all procedures within each specialty grouping, not total expenditure. Data source: CMS Medicare Part B Utilization, accessed via doctransparency.com database.