A giant sting operation ended with 601 people indicted on multiple charges including fraud, false billings, opioid and dangerous narcotic distribution. Of the people arrested…..165 were doctors, nurses and other licensed medical “professionals”. This occurred across 58 Federal Districts in the US. I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. These were just the people they could PROVE committed fraud. After working as an Undercover Narcotics Agent for several years, I have first hand knowledge of the nonsense that goes on in the Employee Benefits and Insurance world, specifically the Medicare and Medicaid (MediCal in CA).
Fraud is only ONE of the reasons that Group Health Insurance is so expensive
Fraud is not the only reason that our rates are crazy expensive. Have you been following the news about the Big Pharma? When you charge someone a ton of money for a single pill, when it costs you very little…its not fraud, but just unscrupulous business practices, and another reason rates keep going up. The pharmaceutical industry has an explanation for this. They claim that just to be able to make a drug, pay all of the cost associated with the formation of the drug, the Research and Development, failed attempts during the development, anticipated lawsuits, and a host of other things…they claim they HAVE to charge high prices, just to pay all of this and make a profit. I can buy into part of that argument. I think most of us want companies to make a profit. Its when they are making a KILLING, that people have a problem.
Medicare Fraud Strike Force
There is actually a team that investigates fraud and other shenanigans that go on with medical billing, specifically Medicare Fraud Billing. The task force has charged almost 4000 people who collectively, have falsely billed and bilked the Medicare system, to the tune of about $14 BILLION. That’s enough to make anyone sick to hear that.
Steve Brauer-Principal, Brauer Insurance Services, www.brauerinsurance.com, (877) 421-4325