70 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 10 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
General News    H2'ed 8/27/09

Private Insurers Breed Medicare Fraud

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   1 comment
Message Roger Shuler
Cross Posted at Legal Schnauzer
Do the folks who've created much sound and fury at town-hall meetings in recent weeks have a clue what they are talking about on health-care reform?Apparently not.

Consider the fellow who popped off at a town-hall meeting hosted by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). The questioner was opposed to health-care reform because of a possible public option. With all of the fraud we have now in Medicare, he said, how much fraud would we have with a larger public program?

The questioner seemed to be a supporter of private insurance. But it apparently never occurred to him that a large portion of Medicare fraud is committed by private businesses, including insurance companies.

First of all, the Obama administration has started a major crackdown on Medicare fraud as part of its plans to reform health care. And much of that fraud is driven by the private sector. Consider this report from the Miami Herald:

On Friday, FBI agents arrested eight Miami-Dade residents on charges of bilking Medicare for $22 million by charging for nurses to treat mostly homebound diabetic patients--many of whom didn't have the disease or didn't receive the services.

FBI and HHS agents raided the suspects' two Miami-Dade businesses, ABC Home Health Care and Florida Home Health Care Providers, while prosecutors froze their bank accounts.

The prosecutions follow Medicare's suspension of billing privileges for 10 Miami-Dade home healthcare agencies that charged more than $100 million for suspicious services to treat homebound diabetic patients -- including false claims for nurses injecting their insulin shots twice a day.

Now consider the record of private insurers when it comes to Medicare fraud. Two employees at a Blue Cross/Blue Shield subsidiary in South Carolina recently received prison sentences for their roles in a fraud scheme.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) has a long history of fighting health-care reform--and its affiliates have a long history of health-care fraud.

Consider this 1999 Government Accounting Office (GAO) report titled "Improprieties by Contractors Compromised Medicare Program Integrity." And who are those Medicare contractors? BCBSA affiliates, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, are among them.

What did the report find? Here is part of the summary:

Since 1993, criminal and/or civil actions have been taken against at least six Medicare contractors resulting from their performance under Medicare contracts. The alleged contractor activities addressed in those actions occurred during the calendar years 1984 through 1997. With respect to three of the six contractors--BCBS of Illinois, Blue Shield of California, and Pennsylvania Blue Shield--the contractors and/or some of their employees pled guilty to various criminal charges and agreed to pay criminal fines and/or civil penalties. Investigations of the three other contractors--BCBS of Massachusetts, BCBS of Michigan, and BCBS of Florida--resulted in civil settlements only. A total of over $261 million was assessed in criminal and civil penalties against these six contractors.

What kind of shenanigans were the "Blues" up to? The report gives examples:

1. improperly screened, processed, and paid claims, resulting in additional costs to the Medicare program;

2. improperly destroyed or deleted claims;

3. failed to recoup overpayments to Medicare providers within the prescribed time and to collect required interest payments;

4. falsified documentation and reports to HCFA (now Medicare and Medicaid Services) regarding their performance; and

5. altered or hid files that involved claims that had been incorrectly processed or paid.

What kind of culture has existed at the "Blues"? Again, from the summary:

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Roger Shuler Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

I live in Birmingham, Alabama, and work in higher education. I became interested in justice-related issues after experiencing gross judicial corruption in Alabama state courts. This corruption has a strong political component. The corrupt judges are (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Boy Scouts and the Horrors of Their "Perversion Files"

Bush vs. Obama on Spending: It's No Contest

Why Is Karl Rove Planning to Visit the Backwoods of Alabama?

What's the Real Story Behind Karl Rove's Divorce?

Is "Morning Joe" Scarborough a Murderer?

Rove Might Be Trying To "Pull A Siegelman" With Julian Assange

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend