National Catheter Medicare Scam – Losses Reach $4 Billion
At a recent federal conference Operations Officer Mike Cohen, with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) announced that urinary catheter scams have now cost Medicare over $4 billion in losses in 2024.
If you recall, the prominent scam in 2023 was for COVID test kits. These kits were mailed to unsuspecting Medicare beneficiaries whose Medicare numbers were compromised. Some of these beneficiaries later found charges for the kits on their Medicare statements. SHIIP-SMP continues to receive complaints about charges for COVID test kits. The SMP Caseworker at the State Office, Marlú Abarca, has discovered an interesting trend connecting last year’s scam with this year’s catheter scam, “We’ve found that those beneficiaries who never reported the suspicious COVID test kit charges in 2023 are now also finding charges for catheters. This is because the suspicious claims were never reported to Medicare, and the beneficiary never requested a new Medicare number, leaving their Medical Identity vulnerable to additional fraudulent charges.”
In 2023, scammers took advantage of the Public Health Emergency to file fraudulent $96 claims for COVID test kits. This amounted to about $500 million dollars lost to this national fraud scheme. This year, fraudsters are taking advantage of Medicare’s coverage for catheters, with claims averaging $2,800 each.
If you would like to help prevent, detect, and report Medicare fraud, here are some tips:
- Check your Medicare statements. If you find or suspect an error, contact your provider to verify the charge.
- Report any suspicious claims to Medicare. If you don’t recognize a service or provider/supplier listed on your Medicare statement, call Medicare using the number on the back of your Medicare card to report it.
- If you suspect that your Medicare number has been compromised, call Medicare to request a new Medicare number. Scammers share compromised Medicare numbers with other scammers, leaving your number vulnerable to charges from multiple fraudulent providers and suppliers.