Every September, National Report Medicare Fraud Day comes and goes. This month, it was September 12th. The national day is intended to bring awareness to how widespread Medicare fraud really is and give the public information on how to report Medicare fraud. Experts estimate at least 10% of Medicare funds are lost every year because of fraud. Medicare claims amount to more than $650 billion per year, this means more than $65 billion is lost to fraud. Unfortunately, this is one of many factors that make healthcare costs more expensive for everyone and have a negative impact on our nation’s Medicare system. There are two ways to report Medicare fraud:
1. Report suspected fraud directly to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) either through their website or their dedicated fraud hotline.
2. Report the fraud under the Department of Justice (DOJ) Whistleblower Reward Program. This program rewards whistleblowers for reporting fraud by paying between 15% to 25% of the amount recovered by the DOJ to the whistleblower who reported it. The average whistleblower reward in this program is $690,000. Also, when fraud is reported through the DOJ whistleblower program, the government is required to open a case to investigate the potential fraud reported, and to keep the person who reported it updated about the results of the case. Of all Medicare fraud cases reported, 3/4 of them are reported through the DOJ whistleblower reward program.
If you think you’ve experienced or found a case of Medicare fraud, it’s important to report it in one of these two ways. Reporting helps keep Medicare and other forms of healthcare fraud in check. Healthcare fraud of all kinds, including Medicare fraud, drives up the cost of healthcare for everyone at every age.
To walk you through it, the founder of National Report Medicare Fraud Day, provides more information on fraud reporting at www.reportmedicarefraudday.com. Materials include a free e-book with step-by-step instructions for reporting Medicare fraud. You can be part of the solution to ending Medicare and healthcare fraud all year long.
