Doctors Charged with Medicare Fraud

In the seventh national operation, involving 400 law enforcement officials from across the country, 90 individuals and 27 health care providers, including doctors, were charged with Medicare fraud.  Among other accusations, the most common alleged offense involved treatments and services.  I do not know how many integrative physicians were included in the operation, but I do know that some very good doctors have been charged in the past.  The problem is that there are no codes for many integrative procedures, but if you participate in Medicare, you are required to put down a code, even if it doesn’t fit.  If Medicare judges your code to be inaccurate, you are charged with fraud, which can lead to stiff fines and possible jail.  That is why integrative doctors like myself do not belong to Medicare.  It would be stupid to put yourself in such a terrible position.

See Family Practice News, June 15, 2014, P.4.

Celebration of HealthAssociation website