Data Analysis
Medicare Costs by Specialty in Washington
Medicare reimbursement rates vary significantly across medical specialties. This analysis examines average Medicare payments per service for providers in Washington, 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 — Washington
CMS Open Payments| # | Specialty | Avg Medicare Payment | Providers | Total Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dentist | $301 | 7 | 1,855 |
| 2 | Thoracic Surgery | $237 | 51 | 11,412 |
| 3 | Transplant Surgery Physician | $208 | 13 | 3,026 |
| 4 | Hospice and Palliative Medicine (Surgery) Physician | $182 | 1 | 35 |
| 5 | Sleep Medicine (Family Medicine) Physician | $180 | 2 | 716 |
| 6 | MOHS-Micrographic Surgery Physician | $176 | 26 | 44,279 |
| 7 | Plastic Surgery | $173 | 22 | 4,192 |
| 8 | Orthopaedic Trauma Physician | $165 | 14 | 6,865 |
| 9 | Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine Physician | $162 | 28 | 13,445 |
| 10 | Neurological Surgery | $152 | 95 | 31,665 |
| 11 | Plastic Surgery within the Head & Neck (Otolaryngology) Physician | $148 | 7 | 2,541 |
| 12 | Surgical Oncology Physician | $146 | 13 | 1,702 |
| 13 | Prosthodontics | $144 | 1 | 15 |
| 14 | Vascular Surgery Physician | $144 | 70 | 49,954 |
| 15 | Professional Counselor | $138 | 1 | 263 |
| 16 | Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Physician | $137 | 6 | 3,329 |
| 17 | Addiction Psychiatry Physician | $134 | 3 | 1,864 |
| 18 | Pediatric Emergency Medicine (Pediatrics) Physician | $132 | 1 | 115 |
| 19 | Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Dentistry | $130 | 3 | 614 |
| 20 | Transplant Hepatology Physician | $128 | 1 | 197 |
| 21 | Critical Care Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician | $121 | 25 | 2,750 |
| 22 | Preventive Medicine/Occupational Environmental Medicine Physician | $117 | 1 | 855 |
| 23 | Colon & Rectal Surgery | $112 | 16 | 3,274 |
| 24 | Pediatric Anesthesiology Physician | $112 | 2 | 77 |
| 25 | Prescribing (Medical) Psychologist | $111 | 1 | 460 |
| 26 | Cornea and External Diseases Specialist Physician | $111 | 2 | 3,420 |
| 27 | Surgical Technologist | $110 | 1 | 403 |
| 28 | Hospice Registered Nurse | $109 | 1 | 43 |
| 29 | Personal Emergency Response Attendant | $108 | 3 | 3,411 |
| 30 | Neurology with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology Physician | $106 | 1 | 121 |
State payment context — Washington
CMS Open PaymentsAcross 29,493 Washington providers with at least one disclosed industry payment over 2018–2024, the median provider received $226 in total payments, compared with a national median of $339 across 1,571,086 paid providers.
Washington accounts for 2.4% 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 — Washington
| Specialty | Median per provider | Providers paid | Total payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine Physician | $5,826 | 39 | $6,138,710 |
| Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Physician | $5,137 | 28 | $605,880 |
| Vascular Surgery Physician | $4,528 | 99 | $1,447,957 |
| Interventional Cardiology | $3,633 | 52 | $2,054,818 |
| Sports Medicine (Orthopaedic Surgery) Physician | $3,412 | 48 | $612,709 |
Industry payments in Washington by year
| Year | Total payments | Providers paid | Transactions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $45,568,277 | 11,321 | 124,751 |
| 2019 | $44,199,914 | 10,925 | 117,218 |
| 2020 | $29,345,935 | 7,847 | 55,330 |
| 2021 | $146,586,791 | 11,620 | 102,874 |
| 2022 | $39,298,959 | 13,371 | 124,205 |
| 2023 | $44,122,846 | 14,422 | 136,528 |
| 2024 | $41,556,528 | 15,453 | 150,069 |
Methodology
Average Medicare payment per service calculated from Medicare Part B Utilization data for providers licensed in Washington. 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.