Medical Assn Won't Stop Medicare Doc Data Release

The nation’s largest doctors’ group said Monday it won’t try to block Medicare’s release of billing records for 880,000 physicians, although it continues to oppose the government’s recent decision to open up the massive data trove.

An official of the American Medical Association told The Associated Press that the group won’t go to court ahead of Wednesday’s scheduled release. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the organization’s policies allow only certain designated representatives to make on-the-record comments.

Considered the mother lode of information on doctors, the Medicare claims database has been off-limits to the public for decades, blocked in the courts by physician groups who argue its release would do more harm than good.

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Source: The Washington Post