$18M from Medicare: local cardiologist makes list

Published: Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 11:02 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 11:02 a.m.

The Wall Street Journal has created a database of Medicare payments to more than 880,000 medical providers in 2012. The data were released Wednesday by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The database allows users to search by provider name, specialty and location. It shows the types and number of procedures performed and the amounts paid. Payments totaled $77 billion.

A search of "cardiology" shows Dr. Asad U. Qamar, head of the Institute of Cardiovascular Excellence, as the nation's top biller for the specialty, with billings of more than $18 million in 2012. The next highest cardiologist was a Davenport, Fla., doctor with $4.5 million.

Qamar was the fifth highest biller of all categories in Florida, behind one ophthalmologist and three laboratories. He was the second highest non-laboratory biller overall nationwide, behind a West Palm Beach ophthalmologist who billed for nearly $21 million, according to the Associated Press.

Qamar is president of the institute, known as ICE for short, whose main office is at 4730 SW 49th Road, Ocala.

His medical practice also includes the Institute of Medical Excellence and the Limbstitute. In all, there are seven offices in Ocala, The Villages, Williston, Summerfield and Tavares.

The businesses specialize in cardiovascular care and limb vascular care and perform both cardiac testing and therapeutic procedures, according to the company's website.

The entire practice lists five medical doctors and one osteopathic physician, along with support staff.

The release of the long-awaited data shows for the first time how individual health care providers are reimbursed by Medicare.

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$18M from Medicare: local cardiologist makes list