Miami Medical Equipment Supplier Sentenced to Eight Years
MIAMI, FL (September 22, 2009) Today the Miami Herald reported that “A fugitive who claimed to be Mexican but was betrayed by his Cuban accent -- which led to his arrest in Spain -- was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment Monday in Miami federal court on U.S. Medicare fraud charges. For more: Click here
One study by CMS found that up to 70% of payments for some medical equipment should not have been due to a failure to document the medical necessity for the equipment provided under CMS guidelines. In 2008, the errors resulted in $2.8 billion. A representative of CMS indicated that the numbers were not actual fraud, but the error rates made fraud more likely. A new program is of regional bidding for DME suppliers is expected to begin in 2010.
