60 minutes had a piece about Medicare fraud, focussing on the Miami area. A brand new, storefront, empty building operator will set up, bill Medicare for 1M plus in less than a month, and close shop. And brand new vendor with high ticked items or old vendor doing ten times as much billing, doesn’t trigger any red flags in the system. People on Medicare going over their statements report calling their local office and saying, “Look, I don’t use a motorized wheelchair, I don’t have a prosthetic arm; I don’t do dialysis at home. Why does it say I got these things?” And Medicare won’t respond because they have about two fraud investigators in Florida.
An immigrant friend of mine told me her godfather was being investigated for about 12M in false billing for non-existant therapy. People from corrupt cultures come here and take us for suckers; it’s our fault if we leave our gold and silver out on the front yard is the way they figure, and we pretty much do that. Haven’t wised up yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUY_01n1XWQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwU7xc38-cc
Parts one and two of the 60 Minutes piece.