Medicare fraud costs Georgia seniors. Expect Medicare Part D premiums to rise due to fraud and the Obamacare promise to close the donut hole. The problem with fake pharmacies is revealed in this CNN/Money report.
Criminals use a legitimate address to establish a fake pharmacy business — which is essentially a shell operation.
Then, using stolen or otherwise-misgotten doctor ID and patient insurance ID numbers, scammers write fraudulent prescriptions for expensive drugsthat were never actually prescribed or dispensed.
Next, they submit these fake prescriptions for reimbursement to insurers, Medicare or Medicaid — for hefty returns. In a single claim, a fake pharmacy can make anywhere from $2,000 to $8,000, said Richmond, who’s been investigating phantom pharmacy schemes in Florida for two years.
That’s quite a bit of profit with almost no effort and little chance of getting caught.
Regulators are having a tough time cracking down, because phantom pharmacies operate quickly and quietly. They may operate for as little as 60 days or as long as eight months, then disappear and pop up at a new address.
“Criminals quickly make large amounts of money, then close up and open up a new scam somewhere else,” said Cantrell.
Every time a crook wins you lose.
Georgia Medicare plans has affordable Medicare supplement plans to fit almost every need and budget.
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