Monterey, CA Pebble Beach, CA Medicare Fraud Still Runs Rampant

The Wall Street Journal released the results of another of its in-depth investigations, announcing  that literally thousands of medical providers signed up to bill Medicare using questionable addresses, and dozens of doctors enrolled despite disciplinary actions by state medical boards, according to a congressional probe.  Medicare records listed doctors and other providers as practicing at invalid addresses, such as commercial mailbox stores, construction sites and, in one case, a fast-food restaurant, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office that examined data through March 2013.  The GAO posted its report online after The Wall Street Journal reported the findings.  It isn’t clear how much Medicare has paid out to providers whose addresses have been shown to be invalid. The agency estimates that overall, it made $44.2 billion in improper overpayments to medical providers in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2014—a figure that includes payments to ineligible providers, for services that aren’t covered and duplicate payments, among other things.