Feds say they've busted a $1.2-billion Medicare scam that targeted seniors

[Zorro]

Source: LA Times

Federal authorities said Tuesday that they’ve broken up a $1.2-billion Medicare scam that peddled unneeded orthopedic braces to hundreds of thousands of seniors via foreign call centers.

The Justice Department announced charges against 24 people across the United States, including doctors accused of writing bogus prescriptions for unneeded back, shoulder, wrist and knee braces. Others charged include owners of call centers, telemedicine firms and medical equipment companies, including two people from Glendora in the San Gabriel Valley.

The Health and Human Services inspector general’s office said the fast-moving scam morphed into multiple related schemes, fueled by kickbacks among the parties involved. The FBI and 17 U.S. attorney’s offices took part in the crackdown. Arrests were made Tuesday morning.

Medicare said it’s taking action against 130 medical equipment companies implicated. They billed the program a total of $1.7 billion, of which more than $900 million was paid out.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-medicare-scam-back-brace-seniors-20190409-story.html

[Scarsdale]

1. With this kind of money

available tell me again WHY can we NOT afford Universal Health Care in this country???

[MissMillie]

27. Exactly what I was thinking (n/t)

.

[at140]

2. Medicare costs are busting the budget

Probably due to fraud. Penalties for those caught for scamming the system should be much stiffer. Scammers are killing the system.

[True Blue American]

12. Like Governor Scott, they just run for office

As a Republican, get elected.

[at140]

29. Yes, if we hope to get a government run healthcare for all

system, such as Medicare for all, it will not work unless laws are tightened up much more so that fraudsters like the Billion+ fraud stated in the OP, or legal fraud by people like Gov Scott become very difficult to pull off.

[True Blue American]

3. Barr mentioned about a Senior scam this morning

I did not listen closely but that is all those braces we have been seeing on TV.

[KT2000]

4. local company busted

this morning. At least one, maybe more. Lots of retirees here.

[OhZone]

5. Like I've said -

You can't even trust doctors.

[at140]

30. Agree 100%...never trust anyone when it comes to your own health

Doctors are not Gods. They see hundreds of patients every month. They can easily miss something.

A very recent example...our friend had sinus problems which would not go away.
She saw the doctor 6 times and received different medications to try.
Still not get better.
Finally she demanded an MRI, and it found a golf ball size tumor behind the sinus.
She is having biopsy this Friday. Hopefully it is not malignant. She is early 70's.

[DoctorJoJo]

6. I Was Getting a Couple of Calls a Day From These Cretins--Thanks for Shutting Them Down

[hedda_foil]

8. Let's just hope these are the robocall scammers.

No doubt there are copycat scammers on top of these crooks.

[3Hotdogs]

25. Me, too.

[marybourg]

7. Finally! They've been robocalling me daily!

[True Blue American]

13. Same here.

If not them the Insurance company wants t give you a home call.

I told them I keep in close contact with my Doctor. Can see them the same day if I have a problem.

[demigoddess]

15. us too. one call talks about taking Medicare away if we don't

contact them and other one talks about knee braces and back braces. we hate those calls. All the time, day after day. Thought I had finally gotten them to stop, i guess they got arrested.

[True Blue American]

20. Crank calls?

Press 77 after the first ring,stops.

Even do not call, Nomorobo, only work for a while. They told me they find ways around. I do not get as many since I started the 77 bit.

[murielm99]

9. They have been calling me a lot.

I had a back injury and had physical therapy for it. If my doc had seen the need for a brace, I would have one by now. I never even asked about it.

[ToxMarz]

10. They were calling me a lot too

And I don't have any injuries. Think they called any and every number they could.

[csziggy]

22. They called me a lot while I was waiting for my spinal fusion surgery

Once I got a live person rather than a robocall and played with him. Told him I had absolutely no pain anywhere on my body and didn't need any braces. He started offered a back brace which I denied needing due to no pain, moved on to knees (which I denied since they have been replaced), then wrists and neck. I kept cheerfully telling him I didn't hurt anywhere at any time so I didn't need any of his devices.

Finally I got bored and told him since I didn't hurt anywhere he could take my name off his list and please don't waste his time calling me again. I think I kept him on the phone for nearly a half hour.

Since then I have only gotten robocalls which I hang up on. It's no fun playing with them - they can't get frustrated.

[packman]

11. Wonder when they are going to around to the "scooter"scam

In the early 2000’s, Florida made national headlines over “scooter stores” which were as common as convenience stores in some parts of South Florida. The problem, these stores were often just fronts for Medicare scammers using them as backdrops for lucrative schemes that exploited taxpayers. Criminals disguising themselves as legitimate medical supply companies would provide Medicare patients pricey scooters or wheelchairs they didn’t need or want. Then the scammers asked Medicare to pay them back often with huge markups the government paid with few questions asked

https://www.wptv.com/longform/the-new-face-of-medical-equipment-fraud-in-florida

[True Blue American]

14. So manty Medicat Supply stores

Last edited Tue Apr 9, 2019, 03:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Are just like them.

[demigoddess]

16. I was told to get special shoes which medicare would pay for

seemed legit but those shoes are the most uncomfortable things I have worn. Podiatrist did an operation that just killed my foot. Then went to wound care that podiatrist wanted and it didn't do much. all legit but worthless. Seems like everybody wants to make points and money off of medicare. And that doesn't even mention the statins etc that don't seem to be the best thing to do.

Is that the sort of stuff you were talking about?

[True Blue American]

18. Yes

I understand that many of those supplies are needed, many are not.

I have had lower back pain all my life. I bought a cheap back brace. When I do a lot of lifting my back hurts. I found the brace makes me walk different. Pain goes away after I wear it a couple of hours.

I also do leg exercises and stretching at the Y Pool 3 days a week. Really helps.

[Vinca]

17. That's why the calls have stopped. Great!

[Greybnk48]

19. We've been getting 2 to 5 calls a day for weeks!

It's so quiet! Yippee!

[Maxheader]

21. Been going on too long..

First they addict us to drugs..
Then they take take advantage of us seniors...

Hang a few..See if that gets the msg across...

[FiveGoodMen]

24. "Hang a few"

I'm with you!

[eggplant]

23. We got one of these calls on our do-not-call landline just a few hours ago.

So somehow, I don't think they're gone just yet.

[llmart]

26. My latest crank call...

on my landline is that a call comes from my own landline number and my name comes up on the phone display.

Guess I'm calling myself now. I have no idea how that even works, but these robocall companies need to be dealt with. The do not call law is a joke.

[sueh]

31. We just got one of those calls, too!

The scammers are looking for ways to get us to answer our phones.

[MineralMan]

28. Ah...So that's why the grace calls have stopped.

What's the next scam going to be?

[hughee99]

33. I had a call a few weeks ago about my SSN being "deactiviated" and I need to help them sort it out.

I gave them a fake name, address, and SSN, and they said "Okay I have your information here". I said "really, my information came up even though I just made up a fake name, address and number?" They hung up.

You'd think they'd recognize that Heywood Jablowme isn't a real name.

For some reason, I get a lot of these calls. I'm just happy the "IRS" has stopped calling. The deputies have yet to show up to arrest me.

[hughee99]

32. I got a call yesterday for one, but I don't wear a brace of any kind, and I'm a few decades away

from being a "senior". The call was very short.

[Linda Ed]

34. Accord to Joe Kennedy..

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied me.
🍄rump is now breaking his promises, like the con-man he is...

Rep. Joe Kennedy @RepJoeKennedy
🍄rump just proposed over $1,000,000,000,000 in cuts to Medicare & Medicaid. THIS NEEDS to go VIRAL..