According to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Medicare fraud and abuse by home health care providers resulted in a 44 percent increase in spending over five years. (Kaiser Network)
The GAO reviewed home health care payments from 2002 to 2006 and found that the number of Medicare beneficiaries increased 17 percent and spending reached $13 billion. The increases were caused by some providers exaggerating medical conditions and other providers billing the government for unnecessary or non-existing services.
Among the GAO’s recommendations to prevent fraud and abuse in the future is for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to conduct criminal background checks on home health care providers and adopt new rules to make it easier to drop providers that engage in such practices.
Last month, the American Association for Homecare presented a 13-point plan on preventing Medicare fraud and abuse related to durable medical equipment. Medicare fraud costs upwards of $60 billion every year. Medicare spends close to $10 billion yearly on durable medical equipment.