"California Hospital Chain Eyed for Possibly Bilking Medicare for Millions" PBS Newshour 12/19/2011
Excerpt
JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): And speaking of Medicare, America spends more than $500 billion every year on Medicare for elderly patients. Now, as the cost of health care rises, many are examining exactly how that money is spent.
Our partners at the Center for Investigative Reporting have conducted a yearlong probe into one prominent hospital chain's Medicare costs. In an online report released Sunday, the center's California Watch project examined whether the chain is attracting the toughest medical cases, or is exaggerating conditions in order to increase revenues.
Our version of that story is reported by Lance Williams of California Watch.
COMMENT: The basic problem that makes such fraud easier is the use of codes. If Medicare wanted to make it easier to police fraud it needs to STOP the use of ONLY codes and mandate full descriptions. Also make it criminally illegal to change a doctors diagnosis OR pressure doctors to diagnose of any specific condition.
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