Rog's Gallery

Become a Medicare fraud vigilante

Join me in becoming a Medicare fraud vigilante.

First step is to put this number someplace within reach: 1-800/447-8477. That is supposed to get you to someone who will alert Medicare about a scam striking the system.

The scams are what
really anger me.
Consider power wheelchairs.

Federal  examiners estimate that at least 10 percent of the $500 billion spent annually on Medicare is wasted. Fraudulent bills, payments to nonexistent or misidentified patients, doctors or hospitals account for most of that total.

The scams are what really anger me.  Consider power wheelchairs. Suppliers are really ripping off  Medicare. And since we're all paying for the system, they're ripping off every taxpayer.

Under Medicare, hundreds of suppliers buy wheelchairs from manufacturers, and lease them to beneficiaries. In 1997, Medicare and beneficiaries paid just over $100 million to lease power wheelchairs.

Today's bill is $1 billion-plus.

The average cost o0f a power chair last year to Medicare was $4,018. That's almost four times the $1,048 paid by suppliers. Fancier power chairs cost Medicare $11,507. Suppliers paid $5,880.

Wonder why?

The medical equipment industry spent $6.3 million in the 2008 presidential and Congressional campaigns, as effective a payout as hiring lobbyists. It worked on Congress. It voted to prohibit competitive bidding. The Center for Medicare Services, which has an oversight role, has been slow to act on such matters.

The industry cites higher costs to service the chairs, reduced Medicare rates and inflation for the situation. The average compensation from Medicare this year has been cut to $3,641. Still, that's three times the price paid by suppliers.

AARP, in its  November Bulletin,  says that the disparity in prices paid to suppliers and to  beneficiaries "defies common sense... The failure to crack down on waste threatens the credibility of the effort to overhaul the nation's health care system."

Medicare officials blame a skimpy anti-fraud budget for their inability to operate an entitlement program based on the honor system in the face of health care operators who know how to circumvent weak rules.

The scams are many. According to the Miami Herald, a big one involves altering computer billing codes.

How can we stop this stuff? One way is to become a Medicare fraud vigilante. When you discover someone ripping off the system(and us), call 1-800/447-8477, and report the bastard!

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