Let’s take a minute to delve into the world of the Medicare system. You may ask why would this concern Visiting Angels, a company in the home care system, not the healthcare arena.
All the funding mechanisms for our national medical health insurance programs: Medicare, Medicaid, and Tri-Care are inextricably linked through our legislative efforts. Whether we like it or not, when one of these three groups experiences a problem, it will eventually effect the others through some form of legislation -- whether it be reduced funding, increased control and monitoring, or even elimination of part of a program. It is up to all of us to monitor what occurs in the public with a watchful eye towards any unusual practices so that the general public, and in particular our clients/care recipients, are not being ripped-off by fraudulent companies posing as legitimate government licensed providers.
The official government website for Medicare, www.Medicare.gov, has listed several points to consider when identifying and reporting fraud. Here are some tips that may help to reduce potential Medicare fraud:
Some of these can be clerical mistakes and easily explained, yet at times, some of the points sited above may actually be a form of provider fraud. A simple phone call may eliminate your concerns and prevent this fraud.
From the same government website, here are some tips for reducing the potential fraud cases that are so rampant in our system:
In a report by MSNBC’s Mark Potter (www.msnbc.com, Dec. 11, 2007), it was estimated that Medicare fraud can account for nearly “$60 billion dollars a year – a staggering cost borne by American taxpayers.” It is clear that our government, which instituted our medical insurance programs, is unable to enforce the laws which are on the books to protect the very people who would most benefit from these programs. What’s left to do?
It is up to us, the general public, to scrutinize our bills and review service recommendations, billing inconsistencies, unusual office locations, “too good to be true” offers, etc. If we all regularly question what is happening with our service providers, we should be able to greatly reduce fraud in our medical insurance programs.
As for me, I’m all for making sure the amount of taxes I pay goes to legitimate programs, and that my tax dollars don’t end up in the hands of some rip-off artist.
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A few years ago we started using Visiting Angels for part-time assistance for my elderly mother. We had tried other services, and we were very disappointed with the quality of care received. Visiting Angels was our last resort, and what a pleasure it was to find them. At the time we only needed assistance about 12-hrs per week. The caregivers were very nice and helpful. I mostly dealt with Sophia, who scheduled the caregivers, and checked in with me regularly to see how things were going. The entire staff were very pleasant to work with, and extremely accommodating. We recently moved mom to an assisted living facility, as she now needs full-time care. We were very pleased with the care and service we received from Visiting Angels, and we would happily recommend the service to anyone in need of the service.