Medicare Fraud: 60 Minutes

Did anyone else watch 60 Minutes last evening? Sobering. Just sobering.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...n5414390.shtml

I don't know what educational background is required to be an investigator for Medicare fraud, but it seems like this would be a good fit for nurses, particularly those who are unemployed, underemployed or in need of desk jobs. I think a nurse, RN or LPN/LVN, would be better able to ferret out Medicare fraud and check the appropriateness of charges than would someone without a health care background. A gentleman interviewed by 60 Minutes said that his bill included fraudulent charges for bilateral arm prostheses---and he was NOT an amputee! I should think a licensed nurse (again RN or LPN/LVN) would be able to catch that!

Anyway, do please read the article if you haven't seen the report on 60 Minutes. BTW, there was also a story on epilepsy and I felt outraged. Here is a medical condition that affects and ruins many lives, not much research being done because of lack of funding, and yet all this money is piddled away to the scammers who engage in Medicate fraud. :angryfire

I had no idea how widespread this was or how easy it is to defraud the system. And here we nurses, especially those working LTC or LTAC, are so careful to document accurately in fear that we might make a mistake that could be construed as fraud! I applied for a job as an MDS coordinator before deciding to go back to grad school; the job fell through and I sort of felt relieved because it seems like a tremendous responsibility---and risk---if one is inaccurate in doing MDS. Yet here are these criminals running around, basically raping the system! :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire