[[{“type”:“media”,“view_mode”:“media_large”,“fid”:null,“attributes”:{“class”:“media-image size-full wp-image-1606 alignright”,“typeof”:“foaf:Image”,“style”:“”,“width”:“100”,“height”:“100”,“alt”:“New York Times”}}]]In a story about the future of Medicare and how the government will pay for the care of older Americans, Elliott Fisher, a professor of medicine at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI), a professor of community and family medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine, and director of the Center for Population Health at TDI, tells The New York Times that Medicare spending per person varies widely throughout the United States regardless of the quality of the care. Bringing the entire country in synch with the prevailing hospital-stay lengths of Medicare enrollees in Oregon and Washington would result in a dramatic savings, Fisher tells the Times.

“Twenty to 30 percent of Medicare spending is pure waste,” he notes. “The challenge of getting those savings is nontrivial. But those kinds of savings are not out of the question.”

Read the full story, published 2/26/13 in The New York Times.