Medicare & Medicaid Fraud

California Medicare & Medicaid Fraud lawyers

Medicare and Medicaid consists of public money that has been allocated to make sure that the most vulnerable people in society, the elderly, disabled, and the poor, are able to receive the medical care and medicine that they need. Unfortunately, millions of dollars of these health care funds are lost every year to corruption and fraud. Health care providers of all types have ample opportunity to take advantage of government resources like Medicare and Medicaid. If you have first hand knowledge of a fraud that is being committed upon the local, state or federal government, contact the False Claims Attorneys through our Contact Us webpage or call us at 888-503-8267 to speak with an experienced Medicare and Medicaid fraud attorney.

What Is Medicare & Medicaid Fraud?

Medicare and Medicaid fraud can happen at any organization that receives federal funding, including (but not limited to):

• hospitals
• nursing homes
• clinics
• assisted living facilities
• Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)
• medical equipment providers
• home health care providers
• ambulance and emergency medical service companies

Medicare covers qualified persons in four major areas: hospital insurance, prescription drugs, medical insurance, and Medicare advantage plans. Each of these benefits is subject to fraud. Medicaid is a need-based medical insurance program for people with low incomes and few assets that is funded by both the state and federal governments. Like Medicare, it is a frequent target of fraud. Most Medicare and Medicaid fraud includes doctors, dentists, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, nursing homes and other health care providers who are involved in the following types of violations:

• billing for services not performed
• over-billing for services provided
• kickbacks and self-referrals
• padding mileage accumulated on ambulance trips
• billing for professional services provided by individuals without proper credentials
• creating fraudulent cost reports
• billing for unnecessary tests, services, and products
• prescribing and billing unnecessary drugs or medical equipment
• prescribing or billing medical equipment which is not provided
• charging brand name prices for generic drugs and medical products
• diluting drugs
• billing for appointments that were not made or were cancelled in advance

What Can Be Done?

Medicare and Medicaid fraud is a federal offense, and several laws are in place to combat it, such as Anti-Kickback laws and the Stark Law. A whistleblower may also bring a case under either or both of these laws as well as the False Claims Act. If the information provided by a whistleblower leads to the recovery of Medicare or Medicaid funds, the whistleblower receives a portion of the amount recovered under the qui tam provision of the Act. Thus, a California whistleblower lawyer would be of great assistance to the employee. 

California False Claims and Whistleblower Attorneys

Do you have evidence that an organization or individual is over-billing Medicare or Medicaid for services or committing some other form of healthcare fraud? The experienced professionals at False Claims Attorneys can help. If you are an employee who suspects fraudulent activity by your employer, it may be very unsettling to discover health care fraud at your place of work. However, you don’t have to face it alone. Contact the False Claims Attorneys and we can protect your rights and help you navigate through this complicated situation. The bottom line is that something must be done about Medicare and Medicaid fraud. If you have such in formation about misuse or misappropriation of Medicare or Medicaid funds, please contact us today to discuss your case.