New focus of inquiry into bribes: Doctors

The long-running federal investigation into the orthopedic device industry's suspected kickback payments to hip and knee surgeons now has been focusing on the many doctors who receive money as the companies' paid consultants. Kickbacks might raise the overall cost of healthcare, and doctors can be convicted of violating Medicare's antifraud statutes simply for submitting a bill for a procedure linked to a kickback, whether or not the procedure was necessary.