News and Updates

A Brief Introduction to Medicare Fraud

Medicare fraud refers to the act of using fake information related to the medical data of another person. The billing of a patient for various treatments that they never received by a hospital or by a doctor constitutes to Medicare fraud. The abuse of Medicare on the other hand refers to the act of using the various medical services in ways that they are not intended for. Improper or wrongful diagnosis of patients that results to them taking unwarranted forms of treatments constitutes to Medicare abuse. Other instances of Medicare fraud include the use of another person’s Medicare data such as medical cards for personal gains and the continuous billing of a patient for rental equipment that were used at home and later returned.

There has been a fast rise of fake medical insurance institutions that are defrauding unsuspecting citizens by offering them over quoted medical insurance packages that are not legitimized by the Medicare. Those seeking medical insurance plans should be careful to pick only reputable medical insurance companies that are willing to back up their legitimacy by providing proof. Other unscrupulous insurance firms are using false data to lure various individuals into joining various illegitimate medical insurance schemes. However, the good news is that one does not need to fall prey to this dubious schemes. People can now verify the legitimacy of any particular medical insurance company by visiting the Medicare website.

The first step that you can take toward reducing the likelihood of being defrauded is to ensure that you keep you medical number and medical records as private as possible, giving it out to your doctor or medical provider only. You should not also ask for unwarranted services or medical procedures form your medical provider. Neither should you request you medical provider to falsify medical report with the intentions of receiving compensation from insurance providers. One should desist from taking free medical services or medical supplies from door –to-door salespersons at all costs. Refuse services that any medical provider offers to bill by other means away from the set out procedure of billing. Take precaution and protect yourself by observing these somewhat simple but significant issues that might end up saving you from being defrauded in future.