A new national analysis has revealed just how common—and costly—unnecessary endoscopies for heartburn still are in the U.S.
According to Motive Medical Intelligence, which analyzed over 100 million insurance claims from mid-2022 through mid-2024, nearly 11% of GERD visits led to upper endoscopy despite long-standing guidelines advising against it for uncomplicated reflux. The result: millions of avoidable procedures and hundreds of billions in wasted spending annually.
Geographic disparities are striking — states like Maine and New Hampshire showed the lowest overuse, while Wyoming, Iowa, and Alaska ranked among the highest. Experts note that this reflects not only variations in practice but also major differences in patient cost, safety, and overall healthcare value.