People trust that healthcare facilities such as nursing homes will keep the best interests of their residents in mind. However, it is unfortunate that a tiny minority of people who work with older residents commit medicare fraud and abuse. Due to these rare circumstances, it is important to be aware of fraud in a senior living facility.
Here are a couple of examples of Medicare fraud in Texas nursing homes and ways to prevent this abuse from occurring.
Seeing billing for services never rendered
One of the most common ways that healthcare providers commit fraud is to charge a client or insurance company for services that they never provided in the first place. If you see a bill for yourself or a loved one that looks suspicious or higher than usual, call someone at the nursing facility and have them explain the bill and provide you with an itemized receipt of services rendered.
Encountering improper diagnoses
Sometimes, healthcare facilities will provide an incorrect diagnosis in order to obtain more money from a patient’s Medicare provider. Caregivers can spot this in many ways, including by looking closely at the billing codes on a statement. Again, communicating with as many people as possible, including doctors, nurses and technicians, is key to getting to the bottom of an improper diagnosis.
Financial scams and fraud, unfortunately, hit older adults at higher rates than the rest of the population, and this includes scams occurring in nursing homes. By knowing what to look for, professionals can help prevent Medicare fraud in their workplace.