The Washington Post ran an article today detailing an astonishing lack of oversight in the federal Medicare system that has led the recent arrest of 38 individuals accused of bilking Medicare of $142 million.
From the Washington Post article:
Over the past several weeks, federal agents visited dozens of companies there that charged Medicare for prosthetic limbs, costly AIDS drugs, air mattresses and urinary collection bags. Few if any of the products were purchased or delivered to patients in need. Instead, the cash went into the pockets of company operators -- one purchased a Rolls Royce Phantom valued at more than $200,000, law enforcement officials said. Many of the office headquarters are little more than barren storage closets. The Justice Department's Alice Fisher, with Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, right, discusses the arrest of 38 people who allegedly bilked Medicare. (By Lois Raimondo -- The Washington Post) That is just a glimpse into the fraud that officials at the Justice and Health and Human Services departments revealed yesterday when they announced the arrest of 38 people who allegedly bilked Medicare. They are accused of operating sham companies that submitted $142 million in bills for unnecessary or nonexistent equipment and supplies.
Dr. Coburn held a hearing in March 2006 examining similar problems with fraud control (or lack thereof) in the federal Medicaid system -- findings from that hearing estimated anywhere from 3 percent to 40 percent of Medicaid payments are lost to “fraud and abuse.” However, the actual amount cannot be known because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has failed to properly track improper payments – in clear violation of federal law.
Dr. Coburn found that effective data-sharing programs, such as Medi-Medi, should be duplicated across the 50 states as soon as possible, starting with states with the largest Medicaid and Medicare investment.
Read: 05/10/07 Medicare's $869 Air Mattress Bill, by Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post
Issue background: Review Dr. Coburn's March 2006 hearing "Bolstering the Safety Net: Eliminating Medicaid Fraud" for findings, news, testimony on federal health care fraud through CMS.
