Time Magazine published an article on January 4 outlining the Federal Government’s increased measures to combat Medicare fraud. The article outlined that although there is not an official figure on the cost of government health program fraud, the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that it is at least $60 billion per year, approximately 10% of Medicare and Medicaid’s combined annual funding. However, some experts believe this estimation is below the actual cost because most fraud goes undetected.
To decrease the amount of undetected fraud, the Federal government has enlisted the help of Medicare beneficiaries. According to the Times article, there are 47 million Medicare beneficiaries and the number is expected to rise to 80 million by 2030. The government intends to use Medicare beneficiaries for fraud detection. Senior Medical Patrols (SMPs) are volunteers that have been spread across the country to spread the word to seniors about detecting Medicare fraud. The government is requesting that seniors keep track of their Medicare Summary Notices (MSNs), which outline the services and equipment that a beneficiary has been provided through Medicare. Seniors that thoroughly check their MSNs can likely detect if the statement includes a service or equipment that the beneficiary did not receive. Although some complain that the MSNs are not user-friendly, Washington is trying to simplify them. In addition, the government has considered switching from quarterly MSNs to monthly MSNs. This would help the government detect fraud more quickly, before the money can change hands and the fraudulent practice closedown.
Finally, even absent Medicare beneficiary’s involvement, the government hopes that the publicity on Medicare Fraud crackdowns will help inform doctors of the legal risks of being lured into Medicare scams. However, criminal enterprises have begun to rely on identity theft to curtail the need of doctors at all.
Wachler & Associates Health Law Blog
