Posted by: Rob Brant
on Oct 26, 2009
The bill has at least 38 co-sponsors including:
Posted by: Rob Brant
on Oct 26, 2009
Last night 60 Minutes' lead story was another about DME fraud in Miami-Dade County. During the segment, correspondent Steve Kroft interviewed a convicted felon, "Tony", now serving 12 years for defrauding Medicare of $20 million. Below is a transcript from CBS from the last minute of the segment:
The Obama administration is providing Medicare with an additional $200 million to fight fraud as part of its stimulus package, and billions of dollars to computerize medical records and upgrade networks, which should help Medicare catch more phony charges.
But Tony, who has just begun serving his 12 year prison sentence, says there's no shortage of people in Miami waiting to take his place.
Asked how many people in Miami were doing this, Tony said, "I'd say at least 2,000 people. At least 2,000, 3,000 companies."
He estimated that less than five percent of these companies were legitimate.
Posted by: Rob Brant
on Oct 23, 2009
The cost of maintaining accreditation, surety bonds and licensed Respiratory Therapists, combined with cuts in reimbursements and caps in monthly payments have finally caught up with oxygen providers. According to Medicare's website, in Los Angeles County, CA there are only 120 oxygen providers remaining, compared to the 258 which existed in April 2008. During the same time, Miami-Dade County, FL oxygen providers dropped from 401 to 205.
Posted by: Rob Brant
on Oct 15, 2009
U.S. Representative Kendrick Meek (D-FL) introduced a budget neutral, bi-partisan bill today, HR 3790, to repeal the highly criticized competitive bidding program in DMEPOS.
The Florida Alliance of Home Care Services (FAHCS) and the Texas Association of Home Care Services (TAHCS) in conjunction with The Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America and AAHomecare have been working with the Congressman's office for several months now, pushing for legislative action to repeal DMEPOS competitive bidding.
