Another reason why our health costs are astronomical is because the federal bureaucracy is incapable of stemming the massive Medicare fraud that is costing us as much as $90 billion a year.
In an outstanding investigation by the AP, the news service found that in many cases as soon as Medicare yanks a license on fraud charges, it gives the license right back. Yep. Your tax dollars at work.
http://liarcatchers.com/insurance_fraud.html
The following is the first three graphs of the story:
Regulators fighting an estimated $60 billion to $90 billion a year in Medicare fraud frequently suspend Medicare providers, then quickly reinstate them after appeals hearings that government employees don’t even attend, according to an Associated Press review.
Federal prosecutors say the speedy reinstatements — though helpful to legitimate suppliers who get snagged on technicalities or minor violations — amount to a missed chance to cut off the flow of taxpayer dollars to bogus companies that in many cases wind up under indictment. Some store owners have collected tens of thousands of dollars even after conviction, prosecutors told the AP.
Making matters worse, Medicare officials have failed to collect anything from the security bonds that were instituted two years ago specifically to discourage crooked providers from vanishing at the first sign of trouble from regulators. Millions of dollars sit unrecovered; officials blame the delay on personnel changes.
