US charging 412 in health fraud schemes worth $1.3 billion

I would bet that anywhere someone looks at a government program there will be fraud and graft. Sorry my faith in government ran programs over the years has tanked.. The article has a video with the announcement and this really is IMO just the tip of the spear.

ABC News.
Yahoo Originals.
Katie Couric.
Matt Bai.

US charging 412 in health fraud schemes worth $1.3 billion
SADIE GURMAN

Associated Press July 13, 2017

Justice Dept. takes down massive health care fraud scam

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. prosecutors announced Thursday that they have charged more than 400 people with taking part in health care fraud and opioid scams that totaled $1.3 billion in false billing.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the collective action the "largest health care fraud takedown operation in American history" and said it indicates that some doctors, nurses and pharmacists "have chosen to violate their oaths and put greed ahead of their patients."

Among those charged are six Michigan doctors accused of a scheme to prescribe unnecessary opioids. A Florida rehab facility is alleged to have recruited addicts with gift cards and visits to strip clubs, leading to $58 million in false treatments and tests.

Officials said those charged in the schemes include more than 120 people involved in prescribing and distributing narcotics.

www.yahoo.com...

How can we even begin to debate upgrading our health care system with this kind of opportunistic malpractice running so rampant?
Unfortunately it would take a very invasive search and discovery campaign in the billing data base along with follow up investigations to identify these problem doctors.

a reply to: 727Sky

I can say, about damn time.

But this will never be true and complete justice.

a reply to: Cauliflower

Unfortunately it would take a very invasive search and discovery campaign in the billing data base along with follow up investigations to identify these problem doctors.

I've got a story so corrupt that I'm not sure I can legally share it here, although it doesn't involve me. It involves my friend and his former pain doctor in St. Pete, FL around circa 2006-2008 (so essentially dirty doctor pill mill ground zero).

I'll try to allude to the contraband...

My friend was a drug dealer, among many things for the hippie folk. At one point in time, however, he was a walking prescription pharmacy, specializing in Roxycodone. Now... His pain doctor used to write him a script for Roxycodone, Xanax, Methadone, you name it, whenever he wanted.

My friend didn't even have to wait the legal 60 days to refill his Roxycodone prescription, he would fill 10 a month and to avoid suspicion he started having them filled in his friend's names.

How did he have this arrangement with his pain doctor you ask? They met at a hippy drum circle on the beach, my friend traded him what some foolish people in the present refer to as Molly, for an endless supply of legal prescription heroin.

Even when he would go to fill them, after a while all legit chain pharmacies and wise ma & pa joints stopped carrying them due to the high robbery rate at pharmacy's carrying prescription opioids. I kid you not, these little 'satellite' pharmacies started popping up that were in the teeniest tiniest of commercial office space, obviously a front for medicare fraud.

Those were wild days. I have no regrets, but I wouldn't go back.

Let's hope the Prescription Writers & Pharmacists involved do the the longest time.

a reply to: 727Sky

Among those charged are six Michigan doctors accused of a scheme to prescribe unnecessary opioids. A Florida rehab facility is alleged to have recruited addicts with gift cards and visits to strip clubs, leading to $58 million in false treatments and tests.

Lol, 'legal' dope. Why not get people hooked on 'opiates' ? Later on when the prescriptions run out the (now addicted) addicts can find real opium on the street in the form of heroin. This drives the illegal drug trade, which greases the wheels of the justice 'system' which incarcerates thousands of prisoners that feed the Industrial prison complex.

Win win win, one great big endless scam , ongoing.

This is the result of a healthcare system for profit, it simply doesn't work. # I hate people sometimes

originally posted by: Cauliflower
How can we even begin to debate upgrading our health care system with this kind of opportunistic malpractice running so rampant?
Unfortunately it would take a very invasive search and discovery campaign in the billing data base along with follow up investigations to identify these problem doctors.

The funny thing is that if we can wipe out the fraud and the duplicate paperwork done on the State and Federal level, we might not have to do anything.

One other thing we can do is to limit the treatment to what is actually wrong with the person.
A few years ago I ruptured my Quadriceps tendon and had to have surgery. They fixed the tendon without too much trouble. They also put me on blood sugar medication, gave me a glucose meter and strips and put me on medication for cholesterol. So a couple days after I get released I start feeling funny. I check my sugar and it reads 34. I got that stabilized and called my doctor. He asked what they gave me and I told him. He about blew a gasket and told me to stop taking everything and come see him as soon as I was able. Yes there are problems with heart disease and diabetes in my family. That's why I don't miss checkups and lab work when my doctor says so. When I got mobile I saw him and got checked out and everything was fine.
A few weeks later I start getting billing information on everything. My insurance paid over four times what the glucose meter and strips would have cost if I had bought them at a drug store. The medication would have cost $17 dollars for both prescriptions without insurance, they charged $148.
I'm just one person, how many other people does this happen too. Hell this was coming up on three years ago and I still get calls wanting to know if I need more glucose strips.

Please direct all comments to the previously made thread here.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thanks
Thread closed.