Medicare is a service that offers affordable health care to many of elderly Americans each year, with a similar service called Medicaid offering care for single parents and low income individuals. However, it is also a common target for those that wish to commit fraud. Some news agencies report that fraud among Medicare and Medicaid accounts for a third of their operating budget or as much as sixty billion dollars each year.

While it is possible that these figures are exaggerated by the reporting agency, the point remains that fraud among Medicare and Medicaid is a serious problem. Each month health care providers are charged with Medicare fraud and there are numerous on-going investigations.

One of the most common types of Medicare fraud is billing for services that are not preformed or unneeded. The federal government, who funds Medicare, will typically provide reimbursement for services in only a few weeks, so it is possible to bilk the government out of a good deal of money before being caught. In fact, seldom is a home health care provider caught before millions of dollars have been scammed from Medicare or Medicaid.

Medicaid fraud, which is common as well, is also an attractive target, in part because each state has its own Medicaid Office.

See the Medicaid Website Directory for each states Medicaid website portal.

The reason the number of state by state offices is an attractive target is that even though the actual funding for Medicaid usually comes from the federal government, each state has its own procedures and individual policies. This results in not only more overhead and bureaucracy, which can make it easier to slip through the cracks for an extended period of time, but also means that an agency can target the state with the least strict rules.

While often the actual Medicare patient’s account numbers who are used are completely un-aware that they are involved with a Medicare scam, this is not always the case. In many cases, health care providers and chiropractors will provide a payout or other benefit to those whose account numbers are used.

Those who are involved with Medicare scams are also often of foreign dissent, such as Zafar Mehmood, who has ties to Pakistan and was recently ordered held by federal courts while he awaits trial. However, this is not always the case and a number of well established hospitals and doctors have been involved with Medicare Fraud.

Despite these problems, Medicare and Medicaid both provide an essential service to our country, allowing those who would otherwise not be able to afford care to get the healthcare it needs. With that said, Medicare fraud is quite common and is something that federal agents fight daily. Not only does it provide assistance when obtaining durable medical equipment, such as lift chairs or wheelchairs, these services also provide quality healthcare needs to many seniors.

Those who receive Medicare and Medicaid are often quite thankful for it and even with its problems, it is an important service!