We all know that healthcare fraud is a growing concern. Private (e.g. Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna etc.) and public insurers (e.g. the government – Medicare and Medicaid) are both susceptible to fraud with the latter receiving the biggest hit. We know that fraudsters steal money – but how do they do it? In an article released by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) they highlight some of the major and most prominent healthcare fraud schemes.
Healthcare Fraud Examples
1. Rent-a-Patient Scheme
In this scheme organizations pay for—or “rent”—individuals to go to clinics for unnecessary diagnostic tests and cursory examinations. The scary thing is that licensed physicians sometimes participate in the rent-a-patient scheme. Case and point: Robert Bourseau, 75, was sentenced to 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $4.1 million in restitution for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare and Medi-Cal. He pleaded guilty in June to paying a recruiter to deliver homeless patients to his hospital for unnecessary medical services.
2. Pill Mill Scheme
In this scheme, separate health care individuals and entities (usually including a pharmacy) collude to generate a flood of fraudulent claims that Medicaid pays. After a prescription is filled, the beneficiary sells the medication to pill buyers on the street who then sell the drugs back to the pharmacy. Example: Rick Kloxin, pharmacist in charge of Hogan’s Pharmacy in Lyons, Kans., was found guilty in an internet pill mill scheme. Kloxin pled no contest and was found guilty of 14 misdemeanor counts of violating Kansas Pharmacy laws.
3. Drop Box Scheme
This scheme uses a private mailbox facility as the fraudulent health care entity’s address, with the entity’s “suite” number actually being its mailbox number. The fraudulent health care entity then uses the address to submit fraudulent Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurance claims and to receive insurance checks.
4. Third-Party Billing Scheme
The third-party billing scheme revolves around a third-party biller—who may or may not be part of the scheme—who prepares and remits claims to Medicare or Medicaid (electronically or by paper) for health care providers. It is possible, however, for a third-party biller to defraud Medicare, Medicaid, and others by adding claims without the providers’ knowledge and keeping the remittances or by allowing fraudulent claims to be billed to Medicare or Medicaid through its service. Example: Recently, in Miami, Ihosvany Marquez and several alleged conspirators were indicted on charges of having filed $55 million in phony Medicare claims for HIV, AIDS, cancer, pain and varicose vein treatments.
