Letter: Reduce Medicare wasteful spending and fraud

One TV station ad was recently seen to be aggressively selling a back support system approved by Medicare. It claimed that it was clinically tested, non-invasive, would reduce my pain, thousands of customers already used it, and if I was a Medicare recipient, it would cost me nothing. In addition, I recently received a card in the mail that also made a similar claim and implied that I should contact them to determine my eligibility.

A recent federal report found that Medicare paid $919 on average for back braces that cost suppliers an average of $191 each. The reimbursement amount set by Medicare goes beyond just equipment cost, also including fitting and education for the patient. So the inspector general’s office took a look to see if that might explain the high cost to the program.

“For the vast majority of claims, suppliers did not provide any additional services ... other than general instructions,” the report said.

Thirty percent of every Medicare dollar is estimated to be wasted by unscrupulous suppliers providing beneficiaries with unneeded or overpriced medical equipment, from power wheelchairs to blood sugar monitors. More competitive pricing and government surveillance and prosecution is needed.

This story was originally published August 4, 2016 at 3:13 AM with the headline "Letter: Reduce Medicare wasteful spending and fraud."