Ever see those commercials for the Scooter Store? They promise to get any person with compromised mobility a power scooter. They may also have been committing Medicare fraud, as the company was raided by federal agents.



Scooter Store raided for alleged benefits fraud



Benefits scam comes in many forms. In one form, individuals apply for and obtain benefits they aren't entitled to, unknowingly or knowingly. Another form is where benefits providers, like an insurance company that administers Medicare or Medicaid or a hospital, overbills the government knowingly because they are looking for a payday from deep government pockets.



People with limited mobility may have noticed the power scooters for sale from the Scooter Store in ads on TV. According to CBS, the business is now in trouble for scam and overcharging.



Essentially, the machines are electric trikes. They provide a way for people to get around with an electric motor, brake controls, handlebars and rechargeable batteries. The only problem is that the government is paying for way too many of them for people who do not need them.



Dealing with government representatives



The Houston Chronicle explained that Scooter Store headquarters had to deal with a FBI raiding Texas. The Office of the Texas Lawyer General, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Medicare Scam Control Unit, the FBI and the Department of Justice were all involved in the raid.



Though there have been no official charges yet, the Scooter Store is likely to be in trouble for Medicare overbilling by threatening doctors who did not prescribe it to patients who did not need it. According to previous employee Brian Setzer in a CBS interview, he was told to harass doctors until they prescribed the scooter to patients.



When a patient sees advertising for a name-brand medicine, though they may not actually need it, they may request it and have it prescribed. This is only permitted in the U.S. while other nations do not allow it.



Something rotten in state of power mobility



Whether the Scooter Store did anything unlawful is up to the courts. What is known is that the DHHS found in a report that up to 80 percent of power mobility products are issued in error, either to patients who don't need them or cannot substantiate the need.



The Scooter Store was found in a government audit to have received between $46.8 million, according to the Houston Chronicle, to $108 million in Medicare overpayments, according to CBS. The company repaid less than $20 million last year.



According to the Houston Chronicle, the company has made two rounds of layoffs, on in Sept 2012 and the other in February 2013, according to ABC. There has been a change in the Medicare reimbursement for power mobility products which led to 270 employees getting terminated.



Sources



CBS

Houston Chronicle

ABC

My brother just finished reading "the tomb" for the first time. We were discussing some of the obvious changes made to the book when it was republished to make it more modern. It occurred to me that jack probably didn't carry a Glock in 1984. Anyone know what he was using in the first edition? Also, was enough material changed to make looking for an original edition worthwhile, or were these changes pretty much limited to updating technology, etc to keep the book current with the rest of the series?

Thanks

First and last episode for me. So much just... meh. I think Crossbones would be so much better if it had John Malkovich go to Somalia, get a ship, get a crew and be a pirate.

5/1 - from FEAR CITY:
"I want to find whoever did this, Abe."
"I will help you."
"And after I find them I want to take a long time killing them."
"That I will leave to you."

5/2 - Ya know - I have no memory of writing this. Seriously. http://fb.me/30ySYzNA1

5/3 - 2 Big Macs, please. Hold the buns - http://fb.me/2PIL6kjyG

5/4 - I know I can't be the only one in this crew who passes a sign for a Montessori school and sees "Montressori"

5/5 - A nice new appropriately lurid cover for my 1st collection. The ebook has bonus tales not in the paper versions. They extras have been published (in magazines and anthologies) but never collected. Supposed to be in AFTERSHOCK but no room. http://www. amazon.com/dp/B004D5006C

5/6 - "Gotham" is looking sooo good as a trailer. To make it work it must be a good noir crime show first, and a tie-in second. http://tinyurl.com/nluvjmx

5/7 - "Penny Dreadful" appears to have all the ingredients for a super series - or a complete disaster. The truth will be in the telling.

5/8 - switched planes at O’Hare on the way to Portland. Had lunch from the Billy Goat branch in the terminal C food court. The original Chicago Billy Goat Tavern was the inspiration for SNL's Olympia Diner The lady at the counter (I swear): "We have single cheebordger or double cheebordger. You want cheeps?" Unlike on TV, they had no Pepsi, just Coke.

5/9 - So I'm in Portland, OR, for World Horror, and I'm out for a reconnoiter. DOES EVERYONE IN THIS BURG DRIVE A PRIUS???

5/10 - Congrats to Steven King on his Stoker win. As much as I enjoyed DR. SLEEP, I confess I voted for A NECESSARY END by Sarah Pinborough and some other guy.

5/11 - Here's the CraftFest schedule in July at Thrillerfest. That's Heather Graham and I with a 2-hour class on Wednesday http://fb.me/6QeXQXTkc

5/12 - Amen to that. http://tinyurl.com/qx67xvs

5/13 - Here's a cool idea: Free signature bookplate if you pre-order FACE OFF: http://fb.me/6jnr4jwXa

5/15 - May I recommend this newbie's view of the 2014 World Horror Con? http://meghanarcuri.com/

5/16 - at RT - Lunch was a bowl of gumbo at Daisy Dukes. Can't get a bad meal in NOLA.

5/16 - at RT - dinner at Antoine's with the Tor editors and authors attending RT. I had a beef thing and, because I live to serve others, helped Miriam Weinberg and Mary Robinette finish their soft-shell crabs.

5/17 - Too long out of the work force (how long before people no longer get the joke?) https://www.youtube.com/embed/qteu4ld_SCE?rel=0

5/19 - here's one of the Face Off teasers featuring our guy: http://tinyurl.com/ov7cey9

5/21 - "Trigger warnings?" College kids want trigger warnings to keep them from being upset by a topic? We're flippin' doomed, folks. http://tinyurl.com/pbh8hqa

5/23 - In November I plan on attending the World Fantasy Awards. Or, as it's known in my house, Passover. (ba-da-TISH!)

5/24 - I’m at a certain point in the new novel. No matter how many novels you've written, there's never a pat answer to "How much do I reveal now and what do I save for later?"

5/25 - Saw COLD IN JULY. A faithful adaptation of a great noir novel. Riveting. If I were Joe Lansdale, I'd be happy.

5/26 - Enter to win one of 10 copies FaceOff with a bookplate signed by all 24 authors. Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci and including stories by moi and Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, & more, this one-of-a-kind anthology pulls together the most beloved characters from the best and most popular thriller series today. Worlds collide! http://bit.ly/1i1V9ny

5/27 - BIG sale at Borderlands Press. 40% off all print titles + 2 FREE Grab Bag books. www.borderlandspress.com Includes DEFINITELY NOT KANSAS and THE HOGBEN CHRONICLES

5/28 - Oh my golly (I heard that on a TV show) - Alzheimer's and peanut butter - amazing. http://tinyurl.com/n8r7elk

5/29 - received in email:
When I took the entrance exam for medical school, I was perplexed by this question:
"Rearrange the letters P-N-E-S-I to spell out the part of the human body that is most useful when erect."
Those who spelled SPINE became doctors.
The rest are running our country.

5/30 - Measles at a 20-year high. Thanks, Jenny McCarthy. Come on, people. Get your kids vaccinated. http://tinyurl.com/mad3hhx

5/31 - in NYC today for a signing at B&N on E. 86[SUP]th[/SUP].

BIG Memorial Day Weekend Sale at Borderlands Press. 40% off all print titles + 2 FREE Grab Bag books. Definitely Not Kansas and The Hogben Chronicles (signed by Gaiman and me), Black Wind, and Reprisal available. www.borderlandspress.com (the sale will continue past Memorial Day)

Hi Guys,
Hope the forum crew is doing well.
It's been a while since I've posted but I've started re-reading the whole RJ/Adversary Cycle again and had a question. I'm currently halfway through Bloodline and I was planning on ordering the latest copies of The Touch and Reprisal....if they contain any significant differences from the originals. I realize that "The Man" totally revised "Nightworld" and I'm looking forward to reading it.
Bottom line: Do I need to order the latest versions of the aforementioned books or am I good to go with the ones I have"?

Thanks in advance...

FBT

3/1 - If you must clap to the music, please do not clap on 1 and 3. Okay? Friends don't let friends clap on 1 and 3.

3/2 - "The Americans" - watched the first 3 episodes of season 1 last night and will def be back for more. This couple aren't just spies, they're badasses too.

3/3 - This is wild: a Steampunk R2-D2 pic.twitter.com/LTeRqpiIj3

3/5 - I neeeed one of these: http://tinyurl.com/n5hxct6

3/4 - If you like breathless thrillers, I =highly= recommend Patrick Lee's RUNNER. I can't add anything to this Crimespree review: http://crimespreemag.com/runner-by-patrick-lee/

3/8 - this could be a location in my work-in-progress: http://tinyurl.com/k4u7u6r

3/9 - just watched episode 1 of the French "The Returned." Not so impressed until the last 5 minutes changed EVERYTHING. Def going back.

3/12 - Finished "The Americans" season 1 last night. Severely straining my suspension-of-disbelief muscles. Both parents repeatedly take off on these clandestine ops and not once in all these years have the kids awakened and found themselves alone in the house?

3/14 - Clueless Kid on Twitter: 99% of people are stupid. Luckily, I'm part of the other 2%

3/16 - today being Pi Day, I felt obligated to go to Vic's in Bradley Beach for pizza pi.

3/17 - On the subject of disappearing planes, I'd forgotten about Glenn Miller: http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4406

3/18 - Never heard of Brian O'Driscoll, but this pic makes me feel happy... http://tinyurl.com/lwd5wps

3/19 - Clueless Kid again: The difference between pizza and your opinion is that I asked for pizza…

3/20 - "Justified" - besides overdue and well deserved, the manner of Danny Crowe's death was totally unexpected and, well, hilarious. We'll never know if Raylan would have fallen victim to the 21-foot rule (although I doubt it)

3/21 - Passed the 40k-word mark on the w-i-p.

3/22 - Okay, this made me LOL (really) http://tinyurl.com/qeqh8wy

3/23 - First World Problems: http://tinyurl.com/qeqh8wy

3/24 - I joined Goodreads. It looks like it might be fun.

3/26 - received my contributor copy of "All-American Horror of the 21st Century: The First Decade 2000-2010." It contains my story "Night Dive" which, upon revisiting, is not one of my best. It seems too predictable. I wrote it to recapture some of the near panic I felt during my first night dive in a high-walled cove near Zihuatinejo. We had to turn off our lights for the first 15 feet of descent and I felt completely disoriented as to up and down and totally alone in the absolute (and I do mean =absolute=) darkness. After we turned out lights on, all was well and very cool, but that initial descent... wow. http://tinyurl.com/mft5579

3/27 - Just back from my annual trip to the accountant. I have one word: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

3/29 - just hit 50,000 words on the new novel. Nearly half way to the finish line.

4/1/14 - Happy Palindrome Day (no foolin')

4/3 - remember when I said "Friends don't let friends clap on 1 and 3"? Oddly enough, I just heard the original "Money" by Barrett Strong and realized the drummer plays on 1 and 3 during the verses, then switches to 2 and 4 on the chorus. In my old garage band I always played on 2 and 4 the whole way through. Hmmm...

4/4 - from author James L. Sutter: "Dear people who get angry about typos in books: The FDA has guidelines for how much rat poo can be in your food, and you're writing to *us*?"

4/6 - I needed a character in the w-i-p to fly from Europe to Israel, so I looked up El Al flight routes. Now every other ad I see online is about El Al or touring Israel. I know privacy is a fiction, but for a guy who teeters on the edge of paranoia anyway, this is a bit much.

4/7 - RIP Mickey Rooney: "Had I been brighter, the ladies gentler, the liquor weaker, the dice hotter, it might have ended up in a 1-sentence story. "

4/8 - "Justified" - a lackluster S-4 closer that's little more than a setup for the final season. Let's hope it returns to form for its swan-song.

4/10 - GODZILLA - an extended trailer. Must. See. This. On. BiiiiiG. Screen.... http://fb.me/1ohsKyo1K

4/11 - Can anyone think of another series that has pushed the boundaries of network television as far as "Hannibal?"

4/12 - Maybe I should shut up about this. pic.twitter.com/cJM9k5ewL5

4/13 - Is it me, or does George R. R. Martin have a problem with weddings?

4/15 - How deep MH370 might be - a mind- blowing graphic: http://fb.me/3yEdBqQI3

4/16 - my iPod has decided to play its contents in alphabetical order. I'd no IDEA how many song titles start with "Hey" Hey, Joe - Hey Tonight - Hey, Paula - Hey Ya - Hey, 98.6 - Hey, Jude - and on and on

4/17 - A creepy little film less than 3 min long. Shows how you can do a whole lot with very little. http://tinyurl.com/ka3dmux

4/18 - Eating an entire cake. It all comes down to perspective. Really. pic.twitter.com/WNnSunyXJP

4/19 - Passed the 80k-word mark on the w-i-p today. This is going too smoothly. Expecting a glitch to rear its ugly head any minute now.

4/20 - WHO STOLE MY EGGGGGGGS! (Happy Easter) http://tinyurl.com/n4ethnk

4/21 - I don't get cosplay (I missed out on the dress-up gene) but I love the results: http://tinyurl.com/lde5x2b

4/23 - They're out there (or maybe I should say, "There out their") and they're breeding http://tinyurl.com/lyq9jgw

4/24 - I...I...I don't know what to say. At least it's for a good cause. http://tinyurl.com/l8dosco

4/26 - the ms for FEAR CITY is back from the publisher, copyedited by the one and only Rebecca Maines (I insist on her as my copyeditor and she's just decided to go freelance). It's been away long enough that I don't mind reading it again.

4/28 - a very brief interview: http://horror.org/know-nominee-part-eigh...ul-wilson/

4/29 - How many of the millions who saw "Captain American: The Winter Soldier" got the Paine reference? You, Constant Reader friends, will know right off... right?

4/30 - finished my perusal of the copyedited FEAR CITY: e-copy to Gauntlet for the limited edition, hardcopy to Tor.

Fear City is on Gauntlet's site for pre-order. Woohoo!

Gauntlet_Press@mail.vresp.com

[video=youtube;uNA5Yn1MqCQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNA5Yn1MqCQ#t=125[/video]
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(checks to make sure that days in May are getting longer, not shorter)