Posted on May 18, 2023
Seniors got COVID tests they didn't order in Medicare scam. Could more fraud follow?
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/05/18/ [login to see] /medicare-scam-covid-tests-more-fraud-possible
Medicare coverage for at-home COVID-19 tests ended last week, but the scams spawned by the temporary pandemic benefit could have lingering consequences for seniors.
Medicare advocates around the country who track fraud noticed an eleventh-hour rise in complaints from beneficiaries who received tests – sometimes by the dozen – that they never requested. It's a signal that someone may have been using, and could continue to use, seniors' Medicare information to improperly bill the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General has received complaints from around the country about unsolicited tests being billed to Medicare, said a top investigator. Earlier this year, the office posted a fraud warning on its website, urging consumers to report this and other covid-related scams.
"Unfortunately, most of these schemes are the result of bad actors receiving stolen Medicare beneficiary information," Scott Lampert, assistant inspector general for investigations, tells KFF Health News.
Medicare coverage for at-home COVID-19 tests ended last week, but the scams spawned by the temporary pandemic benefit could have lingering consequences for seniors.
Medicare advocates around the country who track fraud noticed an eleventh-hour rise in complaints from beneficiaries who received tests – sometimes by the dozen – that they never requested. It's a signal that someone may have been using, and could continue to use, seniors' Medicare information to improperly bill the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General has received complaints from around the country about unsolicited tests being billed to Medicare, said a top investigator. Earlier this year, the office posted a fraud warning on its website, urging consumers to report this and other covid-related scams.
"Unfortunately, most of these schemes are the result of bad actors receiving stolen Medicare beneficiary information," Scott Lampert, assistant inspector general for investigations, tells KFF Health News.
Seniors got COVID tests they didn't order in Medicare scam. Could more fraud follow?
Posted from npr.org
Medical
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Fraud
Posted 1 y ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."One beneficiary in Indiana suspected something was amiss after receiving 32 unrequested tests over a 10-day period, says Nancy Moore, the Senior Medicare Patrol program director for Indiana. None of the people who submitted a complaint recalled giving out their Medicare number, she said.
In another variation of the problem, Medicare paid for tests for some Ohio beneficiaries who never received them, says Lisa Dalga, project manager for Ohio's Senior Medicare Patrol."...
..."One beneficiary in Indiana suspected something was amiss after receiving 32 unrequested tests over a 10-day period, says Nancy Moore, the Senior Medicare Patrol program director for Indiana. None of the people who submitted a complaint recalled giving out their Medicare number, she said.
In another variation of the problem, Medicare paid for tests for some Ohio beneficiaries who never received them, says Lisa Dalga, project manager for Ohio's Senior Medicare Patrol."...
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