Medicare Vulnerabilities: Payments for Claims Tied to Deceased Doctors
Serial Number
Levin Center Identifier
Document Date
2008-07-09
Report Length
27 pages
Policy Agendas Project Major Code
Policy Agendas Project Minor Code
Additional, Minority, Dissenting Views
Report Type
Found Using Methodology
Yes
Subcommittee(s)
Commission(s)
Idependent Author(s)
Brief Executive Summary
From the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations conducted an investigation into fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicare program.This report focuses on the payment of Medicare Durable Medical Equipment (DME) claims referencing a prescribing physician who is deceased. The findings for this investigation showed that a substantial amount of paid DME claims (approximately tens of millions) contained UPINs for deceased physicians, with supported case history from Florida. The report also recommended that previously failed attempts by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2002 to stop deceased physician claims should be revisited.