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发帖数: 8040 | 1 111 charged in Medicare scams worth $225 million
MIAMI – Federal authorities charged more than 100 doctors, nurses and
physical therapists in nine cities with Medicare fraud Thursday, part of a
massive nationwide bust that snared more suspects than any other in history.
More than 700 law enforcement agents fanned out to arrest dozens of people
accused of illegally billing Medicare more than $225 million. The arrests
are the latest in a string of major busts in the past two years as
authorities have struggled to pare the fraud that's believed to cost the
government between $60 billion and $90 billion each year. Stopping Medicare'
s budget from hemorrhaging that money will be key to paying for President
Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General
Eric Holder partnered in 2009 to allocate more money and manpower in fraud
hot spots. Thursday's indictments were for suspects in Miami, Los Angeles,
Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Brooklyn, Tampa, Fla., and Baton Rouge,
La.
They show that "health care fraud is not easy money," Holder said at a press
conference in Washington.
A podiatrist performing partial toenail removals was among 21 indicted in
Detroit. Dr. Errol Sherman is accused of billing Medicare about $700,000 for
the costly and unnecessary procedures, which authorities said amounted to
little more than toenail clippings. The podiatrist billed Medicare for 20
nail removals on three toes of one patient, according to the indictment. He
charged Medicare about $110 for each procedure.
A message could not be left at Sherman's office Thursday.
A Brooklyn, N.Y., proctologist was charged with billing $6.5 million for
hemorrhoid removals, most of which he never performed. Dr. Boris Sachakov
claimed he performed 10 hemorrhoid removals on one patient, which
authorities said is not possible. An employee who answered at Sachakov's
office declined comment Thursday.
Sachakov had been arrested last year on charges related to a separate scam.
Sachokov denied the charges.
Authorities also busted three physical therapy clinics in Brooklyn, run by
an organized network of Russian immigrants accused of paying recruiters to
find elderly patients so they could bill for nearly $57 million in physical
therapy that amounted to little more than back rubs, according to the
indictment.
In Miami, two doctors and several nurses from ABC Home Health Care Inc. were
charged with swindling $25 million by writing fake prescriptions
recommending nurses and other expensive aids to treat homebound patients,
authorities said. The services were never provided. A message left Thursday
was not immediately returned.
In total, nearly three dozen defendants were charged in Miami in various
scams that topped about $56 million.
Thursday's totals exclude busts two days earlier in Miami that netted 21
suspects accused of bilking $200 million from Medicare.
"These unprecedented operations send a clear message. We will not tolerate
criminals lining their pockets at the expense of Medicare patients and
taxpayers," HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson said.
For decades, Medicare has operated under a pay-and-chase system, paying
providers first and investigating suspicious claims later. The system worked
when the agency was paying hospitals and institutions that couldn't close
up shop and flee the country if they'd been overpaid. But as Medicare has
expanded to one of the largest payer systems in the world, he agency has
struggled to weed out crooks. There are about 1.3 million licensed suppliers
nationwide with 18,000 new applications coming in every month.
"We can arrest and charge people every day and it still won't make a dent
until changes are made to Medicare," said FBI special agent in charge John
Gillies.
He called for criminal background checks and fingerprints of providers. He
also suggested Medicare use unique, secure numbers for patients instead of
Social Security numbers, making it easier to cancel Medicare cards in fraud
cases.
Sebelius has promised more decisive action on the front end, by vigorously
screening providers and stopping payment to suspicious ones, under greater
authority granted by the Affordable Care Act.
Authorities also announced Thursday they were adding strike forces in
Chicago and Dallas. |
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