The
last couple of
weeks, I’ve tried
changing up my
weekly thoughts by
going back to some
satire and humor.
Apparently it didn’t
work since the page
views onto my
website have
dwindled down to
almost nothing. This
tells me that you
like to read my
caustic comments on
our government
rather than some
cutsie humorous
fluff piece that I
make up.
So, here I go again
with another poke at
some of the common
insanity that is
going on in our
country.
Last month I read a
report that stated
that the good old US
government had paid
out more than ninety
two million of our
hard earned dollars
to Medicare fraud.
It seems so called
medical suppliers
have been billing
the government for
wheelchairs and
other pieces of home
equipment for people
who had already
died. Not only had
the patients died,
but so had a large
number of doctors
who had originally
prescribed whatever
was needed.
Now, before I get
too far into this
article let me
reiterate that this
ninety two million
dollars was the
amount paid out by
using the
identification
number of only dead
doctors.
Did you get that?
Only dead doctors.
Some of these
doctors had died at
least five years
earlier. It seems
that the Medicare
system currently is
holding nearly 2,900
identification
numbers as active
for doctors that are
known to be
deceased. They might
be dead, but they
are still issuing
prescriptions.
Doesn’t this make
you proud?
The report goes on
to say that the
investigators pulled
1500 doctors names
at random and asked
them to submit
medical equipment
claims for the years
2000 and 2007. They
found that 734 dead
doctors had filed a
total of 21,458
claims during that
period. To compound
the problem the
federal
investigators only
counted claims that
were submitted more
than a year after
the doctor had died.
Makes you wonder how
many more were out
there doesn’t it?
It seems the feds
obtained a list of
deceased doctors
from the American
Medical Association
and then compared
claims made by those
physicians and from
that data they
determined that a
fraud had been
committed.
You think?
Now, I don’t know
about you, but it
would seem to me
that the government
should be able to
match up the names
of dead people
against a database
of people making
claims for services.
Especially if the
guy making claims
has been dead for a
period of one to
five years.
No wonder we can’t
find Osama. For all
we know old Osama
might be living in
the big apple and
selling hot dogs in
Central Park. If we
can’t deny claims
made by a guy who
has been dead for a
number of years, how
would we know if
someone like Osama
isn’t living here in
the US of A?
I don’t expect much
to come of this
‘huge’ government
investigation. I
predict it will all
go away and nothing
of any importance
will be done. Some
years ago, after my
mother died, I
continue to receive
copies of invoices
sent to Medicare for
a wheelchair and a
cane, which she
never had gotten.
These invoices keep
coming for about 5
or 6 months after
she died. I wrote to
Medicare and
explained that I
thought this was
fraud since she had
been dead for a
period of time and
had never used a
cane or a
wheelchair.
You know how a
letter looks when
its’ been through
the copier a couple
of hundred times?
Well, that’s what I
got. A form letter
that had been copied
so many times it was
hard to read. No
phone number, no
case number, no
nothing except a
form letter telling
me ‘they’ would look
into my complaint
and ‘thoroughly’
investigate for any
wrongdoing.
Lots of luck. I can
tell you the chances
of that happening
are slim and none.
Medicare officials
said they were
making the system
more ‘fraud’ proof
by matching up the
social security
numbers of deceased
Americans against
doctors filing
claims. I don’t know
about you, but I
would have thought
they were doing this
from the start.
All, I know is that
if I were to try any
of this, the FBI,
CIA , IRS and God
knows who else would
be on me like a duck
on a June bug. I’d
never get dollar
one.
But there is
hope…..a spokesman
for Medicare says
that “Before our
current reforms,
anyone could become
a supplier, but now
they must be fully
accredited based on
strict financial and
quality standards.”
Excuse me, but I
think I heard the
barn door slam.
Send this to your
friends…..write to
your congressman or
congresswoman,
whatever…go to
www.pearyperry.com
and make
copies…..this kind
of stuff will cause
us to go broke.
