After conducting an investigation, the Associated Press claims officials fighting Medicare fraud regularly suspend providers only to "quickly reinstate them after appeals hearings that government employees don't even attend," according to an AP report from ABC News.
These speedy reinstatements result in missed opportunities to cut off taxpayer dollars to fraudulent providers that often end up under indictment, according to the report. Some store owners charged with Medicare fraud have continued to collect thousands of dollars after their conviction.
The government and its private contractors are often absent from initial hearings when the suspended companies appeal, which allows them to "win practically by default," according to the report. CMS officials declined to explain why they aren't involved in the process.
The report says that between 2006 and 2009, 37 percent of providers who lost their licenses in six cities were eventually back in business, often within months.
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These speedy reinstatements result in missed opportunities to cut off taxpayer dollars to fraudulent providers that often end up under indictment, according to the report. Some store owners charged with Medicare fraud have continued to collect thousands of dollars after their conviction.
The government and its private contractors are often absent from initial hearings when the suspended companies appeal, which allows them to "win practically by default," according to the report. CMS officials declined to explain why they aren't involved in the process.
The report says that between 2006 and 2009, 37 percent of providers who lost their licenses in six cities were eventually back in business, often within months.
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