This opinion piece on the Star Tribune's Editorial page this morning caught my eye.

Dr. Rita Redberg, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, writes about the impending financial meltdown of Medicare, the nations' health plan for the elderly.

She lists five examples of what she believes are unnecessary (and expensive) tests and medical devices that contribute to Medicare's ballooning bottom line. It caught my eye because many of them are devices marketed by local companies. She cites various studies that bolster her opinion.

Among them: Kyphoplasty, a procedure for treating vertebral fractures that has been championed by Fridley-based Medtronic, which bought the technology when it acquired Kyphon Inc. in 2007 for $4.2 billion.

Redberg also mentions cardiac stents as a procedure that doesn't provide much benefit in patients. The tiny mesh medical device is made by Medtronic and Boston Scientific's Maple Grove division.

And, she whacks at implantable cardioverter defibrillators, heart-shocking devices made by Medtronic, Boston Scientific and St. Jude Medical of Little Canada.

Janet Moore covers medical technology at the Star Tribune.