The Justice Department recently charged 455 people in its annual National Health Care Fraud Takedown.The cases involve more than $6.5 billion in alleged false claims.
More state Medicaid units took part than in any prior year.Ninety of the accused are doctors or other licensed medical professionals.
The DOJ says prosecutors still must prove the charges in court.Many schemes used other people's medical identities.Prosecutors also added aggravated identity theft charges in cases across dozens of states.
In one case, the co-owner of a Virginia mental health company allegedly paid homeless people with hotel stays.Prosecutors say the company used their Medicaid numbers, then billed Medicaid for crisis services the patients never got.For the people whose numbers got used, the case file may eventually close.
Their medical records may not be so easy to fix.Once someone else's treatment shows up under your name, it can add wrong information to your chart.
It can also use up insurance benefits you may need later.That is harder to undo than canceling a credit card.Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportDR OZ WARNS MEDICARE SCAMMERS ARE STEALING BILLIONS — AND YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION COULD BE NEXTMedical identity theft can put someone else’s claims, prescriptions or diagnoses into your health records, creating problems that can follow you into a doctor’s office.
(iStock)Medical identity theft happens when someone uses your name, Social Security number (SSN), health insurance account number, or Medicare number to see a doctor, fill a prescription, buy medical equipment, or submit a claim, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).When care is billed under your name, the thief's health information can blend into yours.The FTC warns that mixed records can affect the care you're able to get and the benefits you are able to use.
A blood type, a drug allergy, a diagnosis, or a prescription that belongs to a stranger can sit in the file a physician reads before treati...