Crooks banking $80 billion in Medicare fraud yearly

We all pay taxes toward Medicare, but did you know $80 billion dollars a year is going to crooks? According to federal officials, health care fraud is not only becoming an epidemic, but it is also dangerous to your health.

Health care advocates say scammers will bill Medicare for services you did not receive, for services different than what you actually received or for services that were not necessary for you.

The easiest way to know if your coverage has been compromised is to read your Medicare summary notice carefully. You should do the same for your insurance company’s explanation of benefits form.

Health care advocates also warn about scam artists that call elderly patients, offering them services in order to get their medicare number.

“Once they have your medicare number, they can bill medicare, they can falsify documents to bill medicare maybe they come to your house and maybe they do clean your house one or two times – that’s it –  they are not providing skilled nursing,” explained Healthcare Consumer Coordinator Jason Echols.

If you think you have been a victim of health care fraud, you need to call 1-800-MEDICARE or click here.