A recent Health and Human Services Inspector General Report found ongoing problems with bogus Medical Suppliers continuing to rip of Medicare and taxpayers.
The report found "suppliers not located at their addresses on file or, in some cases, not open during reasonable business hours. Medicare paid these companies approximately $21 million in the year ending June 30, 2007."
"In Los Angeles County, 13 percent of suppliers (about one in every eight) did not have physical facilities or were not open during repeated unannounced site visits. This included 20 facilities that were entirely vacant and others that housed other businesses. One business was an art gallery, another a tutoring firm, and yet another a trucking company. Two additional locations were private residences with no business signs or posted business hours."
Read the entire March 3, 2007 news release, "OIG Report Finds Continued Lack of Medical Supplier Compliance with Medicare Requirements Study Reviews Los Angeles: Recommends Further Strengthening of Supplier Enrollment Process"
To read the full report, go to: http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-09-07-00550.pdf
