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The Changing Focus Of Peer Review Under Medicare, Peter M. Mellette

University of Richmond Law Review

Consumers today rely on both physicians and the federal government for health care services. A consumer/patient's visit to a physician is the usual method of access to such services. After examining the patient, the physician will typically send the patient home with a prescription for medication or refer the patient for admission to an appropriate health care provider, such as a hospital. In either instance, the patient incurs medical bills. If the patient is age sixty-five or older, the federal government probably pays for most of those bills through the Medicare program.