After 20 years of ever-increasing health care fraud and abuse in Florida, a bill passed by the Legislature will give the state some of the toughest laws in the nation against those who rip off Medicaid and Medicare.
Sponsored by Senator Don Gaetz and Senator Durell Peaden , Senate Bill 1986 equips law enforcement and oversight agencies with new tools to identify, investigate, put out of business and prosecute individuals and companies that knowingly defraud health care programs designed to care for the elderly and the poor. The bill also makes it easier for the state to recover money from those who abuse the system and provides cash rewards to those who turn in fraudulent providers.
The legislation will require exhaustive background checks for those applying to set up pharmacies, home health agencies, medical equipment companies and clinics. Until now “bad actors” who have abused the system elsewhere have been able to slip through cracks in the law and re-appear under different corporate names in Florida. The result has been an avalanche of fictitious patients, over utilization, improper billing, and kickbacks.
Full Article and Source:
Anti-Fraud Law Goes After Medicaid Cheats
Sponsored by Senator Don Gaetz and Senator Durell Peaden , Senate Bill 1986 equips law enforcement and oversight agencies with new tools to identify, investigate, put out of business and prosecute individuals and companies that knowingly defraud health care programs designed to care for the elderly and the poor. The bill also makes it easier for the state to recover money from those who abuse the system and provides cash rewards to those who turn in fraudulent providers.
The legislation will require exhaustive background checks for those applying to set up pharmacies, home health agencies, medical equipment companies and clinics. Until now “bad actors” who have abused the system elsewhere have been able to slip through cracks in the law and re-appear under different corporate names in Florida. The result has been an avalanche of fictitious patients, over utilization, improper billing, and kickbacks.
Full Article and Source:
Anti-Fraud Law Goes After Medicaid Cheats
7 comments:
This is good - there should be tough laws that deter Medicaid abuse. Now if we can just get them to see that forcibly pauperizing a person who had the means to take care of their old age financially is Medicaid abuse!
Hundreds of billions of dollars are lost through Medicare/Medicaid fraud. It's important to clamp down - but not deny services to those who need them.
Will these same Florida lawmakers do anything to prevent frauds in Florida like that reported in February by WJXT-Channel 4 and News4Jax.com at
http://www.news4jax.com/news/18755878/detail.html?
All I know is that they haven't so far for nearly 20 years following the events which I describe and document online at http://home.roadrunner.com/~tvfields/dir.htm
For more information, such as a letter which I sent last month to the Administration on Aging, please write me at tvfields@oh.rr.com
Well, it's about time someone is waking up and opening their eyes in the state legislatures!
Guardianship racket has been and is draining the wealth of their wards, called "spend down", as fast as possible in order to declare their wards destitute, qualifying for Medicaid.
I am pleased to hear that Senate Bill 1986 passed.
Summary: Lawyers and professional guardians et al appointed by the courts end up with their wards assets in their pockets leaving me, us, you with the bills paid for by Medicaid and Medicare.
These sound like good measures that will pay off.
TVFields, I hope this is a step in the right direction and the Florida lawmakes continue moving forward.
Sorry to say, it's going to take a lot more for these people to really take a stand. Follow: $$ and the votes - there you will find your answer.
Post a Comment