Senate committee accuses companies of 'gaming of Medicare' - USA Today

[cbayer]

By Kelly Kennedy, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – Three home health care companies manipulated the Medicare system by charging for unnecessary services, according to an investigation released Monday by the Senate Finance Committee.

"The gaming of Medicare represents serious abuse of the home health program," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the committee's chairman, in a statement. "Elderly patients in the Medicare system should not be used as pawns to increase a company's profits. Especially in these tough economic times, taxpayers simply cannot afford for their dollars to be wasted on unnecessary care."

Investigators cited internal memos showing that three of the nation's largest home health care companies told employees to increase the number of therapy sessions a patient received in a 60-day period.

"The home health therapy practices identified at Amedisys, LHC Group, and Gentiva at best represent abuses of the Medicare home health program," the report states. "At worst, they may be examples of for-profit companies defrauding the Medicare home health program at the expense of taxpayers."

more at link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-10-03/medicare-senate-investigation/50647884/1?csp=34news

[OHdem10]

1. Most likely lots of this takes place, but NOT A REASON for GOP

to TRY TO END MEDICARE.

JUST PUT SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE TO CORRECT THE SITUATION.