Seniors Who Uncover Fraud are Not Allowed to Manage their Own Health Budget
The Senior Medicare Patrol: They save money for the government, but not for themselves:
The 4,700 senior citizen volunteers who serve as the government’s eyes and ears have been credited with saving taxpayers more than $100 million since 1997. The program relies on elderly people to apply a lifetime’s worth of common sense and skepticism.
So why can’t they have Health Savings Accounts?
Very good closing question. The government trusts these people to monitor their bills and catch fraud, but it doesn’t trust them to manage their own health dollars in an account that they own and control. What’s wrong with this picture?
I agree with Stephen. Why can’t seniors have Health Savings Accounts?
Why isn’t it age discrimination to deny seniors HSAs?
The durable medical equipment (DME) area seems to be where the Medicare fraud is rampant. The Bush Administration tried to get a grip on it (with some success) via auditing, but the DME suppliers successfully lobbied to call off the dogs.
It would have been a million times easier for the government to have said: “Here’s what we pay for this piece of equipment. If you can find it cheaper, we’ll refund half the savings into your HSA, which we are now making legal for seniors.”
It’s not exactly health reform, but it would be a step in the right direction.