Do You Think You Could Successfully Steal $4 Million from American Express Over a Year-and-a-Half?
How about Mastercard or Visa? Well, Medicare is apparently an easier mark:
Caridad Guilarte, 54, and Clara Guilarte, 56, were on a most-wanted list on the website of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which runs Medicare.
The sisters are charged with collecting more than $4 million from Medicare for drug therapies that were unnecessary or not performed at a clinic in Dearborn over an 18-month period.
Medicare, a government source, is easier to steal millions from than a credit card company? I’m seriously worried for our nation.
I think the answer is definitely no.
There are far more durable medical equipment firms in Miami-Dade County than in all of California — it’s a hotbed for Medicare fraud. When investigators went looking for some of the addresses listed for equipment providers, about one-third couldn’t not be found at the locations listed in Medicare’s records.
Interesting. It’s a good sign that these programs should be reformed when people can steal that much money from honest tax payers.
Answer to your question: Of course not.
In all fairness, the Guilartes probably used the money to stimulate the economy. I also notice artk and Erik seldom post on stories where the government performs this poorly, so I’ll fight from their corner:
“Is this supposed to shock us John? So they stole $4 million. So what? This happens in the private sector all. the. time. So while you’re off trying to end Medicare to stop crimes against the govt, I’ll go end private commerce to stop theft. Then we can tell our sad stories of failure.”
Whew. It’s rather difficult to capture artk’s belligerence…
The issue is very simple, the law says pay first and ask questions later. That 4 million, that’s pocket change for the doctors who order MRI and other procedures of questionable medical necessity and then send their patients to diagnostic centers they have a financial interest in. If you stole 4 million from AMEX, they wouldn’t announce it on their web site, they would just write it off and keep it a secret.
What? No ad hominem statements? Are you alright art?
You want an ad hominem, Tom? You’ll notice the report came from the health insurance company trade association. How many people have died because of the private insurance companies unfair denial of care that’s the other “fraud prevention”.
Good to see you’re alright old boy.
I’ve had my eye on ripping off the ATM near my office, but I don’t think it holds $4 million.
Pocket change? $4 million? Perfect candidate for public office.
How much do you think Medicare will get back? They froze 1.5 million, and assuming they can recoup all that, they only have 2.5 million to go. I don’t think they will get any more than 1 million of that 4 at the most, and that seems high. The idea of posting it on their website seems like nothing more than fluff, to get people to think they are doing something about claims fraud. However without recouping the 4 million Medicare ultimately it is just written off as well
So they got $4 million. How much do Medicare investigators actually recover on an annual basis and put back into the US Treasury? I figure its a case of horse is already out the barn and the money is never recovered. Obamacare is supposed to reduce Medicare by $500 billion of waste, fraud and abuse annually. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen in my life time (leading edge baby boomer).
Doug,
Didn’t you notice Obama already cut Medicare $500 billion over ten years, $50 billion last year another $50 billion this year, as this program adds 12,000 recipients every day?
Not too hard to do when you just “cut” these amounts from the budget. Medicaid will bankrupt 45 states this summer as the Feds “cut back” expanded 20% stimulus amounts from 80% to historic amounts of 60% federal funds.
Won’t it be sad to see teachers protesting at the capitals of these 45 states, wanting state governments to cut Medicaid recipients instead of teachers?
Malcolm Sparrow testified many times to Congressional Committees that credit card fraud is one tenth of 1 % and that Medicare and Medicaid Fraud is hundreds of billions each year, you may recall the famous HC Summit testimony that waste, fraud and abuse are $1 out of every $3 we spend. That’s 33% of which the Justice and HHS recovered $4 billion?
We can do better, mainly because it’s impossible to do any worse!