Industry Payments to Cardiologists Are Linked to Increased Medicare Spending: Michael I. Ellenbogen, MD, and Yubin Park, PhD

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) was joined by Michael I. Ellenbogen, MD, and Yubin Park, PhD, authors of research published in the March 2026 issue.

Because financial incentives may influence clinical decision-making, their study examined the relationship between industry payments and Medicare beneficiary spending.

As reflected in its title, “Industry Payments to Cardiologists Are Associated With Higher Medicare Spending,” their cross-sectional analysis of more than 26,000 cardiologists found that industry payments were associated with increased Medicare costs. Specifically, every $10,000 in payments was linked to an additional $14.10 in beneficiary spending.

In AJMC’s conversation with the authors, they discuss what inspired their research, the key findings, and how these results may inform policies and strategies to both better manage physician-industry relationships and control health care spending.

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