Seniors urged to fight Medicare fraud

Friday, May 26, 2000 | 10:44 a.m.

Medicare and Medicaid fraud specialists urged a group of seniors Wednesday to take an active role in preventing and uncovering fraud.

The panel advised the group to review medical statements, avoid giving their Medicare number at health fairs where services are free and to treat the Medicare number as if it were a credit card number.

An estimated $240 billion will be spent nationally on Medicare this year, Carl Reinhardt, a Medicare fraud specialist of TransAmerica Insurance Co., told the group at Boulder Station.

"Ten percent of that will be wasted on fraud," he said.

Deputy Attorney General Mark Kemberling said the state office recouped $1 million lost to fraud last year.

"We're trying hard, but it does take involvement from the community," Kemberling said. "The more we hear from (the community) the more we know where to concentrate our efforts."

Nearly 40 percent of the attorney general's fraud cases were discovered by beneficiaries, he added.

Forms of Medicare fraud range from incorrect billing codes to fraudulent lab tests.

"The most common cases we're finding in the Las Vegas area are lab tests and durable medical equipment," said panel member Myra Davis, coordinator for the State Health Insurance Advisory Program. "But it takes repeated effort before a red flag goes up."

The advisory program uses trained volunteers to provide information and to advise seniors on public health care, including information on fraud and abuse.

Davis told the group that the program is seeking more volunteers.

Retired professionals are also being sought to volunteer for Project SNAG, or Senior Nevada Advocates on Guard, to teach beneficiaries how to spot and report suspected fraud, Jo Anne Embry, project director, said.

For more information or to volunteer, call (888) 838-7305.