Ryann Grochowski Jones

ProPublica found that drugmakers spent less to market opioids to doctors in 2016 than in prior years. Studies have shown that payments to doctors are linked to more prescriptions for the drugs.

In 2011, just 41 health care providers prescribed more than $5 million each in medicines under Medicare Part D. In 2015, that number was 514. The rise of expensive hepatitis C drugs is a factor.

A hospital's location and whether it is for-profit make a big difference in the share of its doctors taking industry payments like meals, travel and speaking fees. Check out the ProPublica analysis.

An analysis of Medicare data shows that the more money a doctor gets from pharmaceutical companies, the more likely he or she is to prescribe brand-name medications. And that influences cost.

Few days went by last year when New Hampshire nephrologist Ana Stankovic didn't receive a payment from a drug company.

All told, 29 different pharmaceutical companies paid her $594,363 in 2014, mostly for promotional speaking and consulting, but also for travel expenses and meals, according to data released Tuesday ...

In the face of abuse concerns, Medicare covered more prescriptions for potent controlled substances in 2012 than in 2011. Top prescribers often have faced disciplinary action or criminal charges.

American doctors received at least $1.4 billion in payments from drug companies last year. What did the companies get for their money?

Office visits are the bread and butter of many physicians' practices. Medicare pays for more than 200 million of them a year, often to deal with routine problems like colds or high blood pressure. Most require relatively modest amounts of a doctor's time or medical know-how.

Not so for Michigan ...

The sharp decline in payments coincides with increased scrutiny of drug marketing. Later this year, federal law will also require that drugmakers disclose the amount of money they give to doctors.