Transparency is good medicine for medicare

The federal government sends out nearly $77 billion each year to physicians participating in the Medicare program. The taxpayers footing those bills deserve to know where the money is going. And data about Medicare payments can be crucial in rooting out organized fraud or poor oversight of Medicare spending.

That’s why last week’s release of a massive payment database by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is so valuable. For the first time, Americans can see where Medicare dollars are being spent in their community.

But the raw data lacks context. While some of the payments include...