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
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
They talk patients who don't need them into wanting them ("It's free! Medicare will pay for it!") then have them pressure their doctor to order them one while they fill his fax inbox with forms to fill out.
FPW
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