Probe: Medical suppliers reaped up to $93M in fraudulent Medicare claims using dead doctors

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sellers of wheelchairs, drugs and other medical supplies collected as much as $93 million in fraudulent Medicare claims based on prescriptions from doctors who actually were dead, some for 10 years or more, a congressional investigation has found. Millions more dollars will continue to be at risk of waste and fraud each year in the billion-dollar government-run health program for the elderly and disabled unless Medicare officials address flaws that they've promised to fix since at least 2001, according to the probe. The bipartisan report by the Senate Homeland Security investigations subcommittee, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, reviewed millions of reimbursement claims for medical equipment and supplies from 2000 through 2007. It found that Medicare paid out between $60.3 million to $92.8 million... [read full story]