If you are a Medicare beneficiary, a fraud scheme involving wound care products contributed to higher Part B premiums than you would otherwise have paid. Federal investigators have confirmed it: Medicare spending on wound care products called skin substitute allografts grew from $256 million in 2019 to more than $10 billion by 2024 — a nearly 40-fold increase in five years — largely driven by abusive pricing, unnecessary procedures, and outright fraud.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has since restructured the payment system, with a new rule that took effect January 1, 2026, and is projected to reduce gross spending on skin substitutes by $19.6 billion this year — roughly a 90 percent reduction compared to prior spending levels.
