stopmedicarefraud.gov
During a talk radio show on health care, I learned about a joint U.S. Department of Health and Department of Justice website that educates the public on Medicare fraud. In order to help pay for for health care reform, President Obama mentioned the need to find better ways to be efficient and this is one of those ways. According to the website, eliminating fraud will cut costs for families, businesses and the federal budget and increase the quality of services for those who need care. Below, I’ve listed some ways you can identify fraud and not become a victim. For more information and contact information to report a potential fraud case, visit stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Be suspicious of doctors, health care providers, or suppliers that tell you the following:
- The equipment or service is free; it won’t cost you anything, and they only need your Medicare number for their records
- Medicare wants you to have the item or service
- They know how to get Medicare to pay for the item or service
- The more tests they provide, the cheaper the tests become
Be suspicious of doctors or plans that do the following:
- Don’t charge copayments without checking on your ability to pay
- Advertise “free” consultations to people with Medicare
- Claim they represent Medicare or a branch of the Federal government
- Use pressure or scare tactics to sell you high-priced medical services or diagnostic tests
- Bill Medicare for services you didn’t get
- Use telephone calls and door-to-door selling as marketing tools
- Offer non-medical transportation or housekeeping as Medicare?approved services
- Put the wrong diagnosis on the claim so that Medicare will pay
- Bill home health services for patients who aren’t confined to their home, or for Medicare patients who still drive a car
- Bill Medicare for medical equipment for people in nursing homes
- Ask you to contact your doctor and ask for a service or supplies that you don’t need
- Bill Medicare for tests you received as a hospital inpatient or within 72 hours of admission or discharge
- Bill Medicare for a power wheelchair or scooter when you don’t meet Medicare’s qualifications
Watch Out For These Common Fraud Schemes:
- People who approach you in parking lots, shopping centers, or other public areas and offer free services, groceries, transportation, or other items in exchange for your Medicare number. Just walk away!
- People who call you claiming to be conducting a health survey and ask for your Medicare number. Simply hang up the phone
- Telephone marketers who pretend to be from Medicare or Social Security and ask for payment over the phone or Internet. Don’t do it! They may want to steal your money.
President Obama’s Weekly Address – 10/17/09
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Family, Health, Obama
As the health insurance reform debate enters into its final stages in Congress, the President denounces the desperate and deceptive last-ditch efforts of the health insurance companies to derail it.
Comparing Hospital Care
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Family, Health
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a website that will help you find information on how well hospitals care for patients with certain medical conditions or surgical procedures. The results are from a survey of patients regarding the quality of care they received during a recent hospital stay. The good thing about this site is that it is a great way to see how your local hospital is doing in regard to patient care. The one thing to keep in mind, is that the results of the survey are around a year old.
This is a good start and I hope that it will aid in improving the public’s awareness of hospital care in their community. We need to be ready to hold these hospitals accountable when it comes to the care of our loved ones. If you have any stories you’d like to share (positive or negative) regarding your stay in one of the hospitals listed, feel free to leave a comment.
Hospital Compare @ hhs.gov – A quality tool provided by Medicare
President Obama’s Weekly Address – 10/10/09
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Family, Health, Obama
The President goes through the leading conservative and Republican figures who have come out one after another urging passage of health insurance reform. After a summer of intense debate, cooler heads begin to prevail to make progress for the American people.
President Obama’s Weekly Address – 10/03/09
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Health, Obama, Personal Finance, Politics, Society & Culture
The President discusses ongoing efforts to spur job creation. He also explains why health insurance reform is needed not just for long-term economic stability, but in the immediate future, discussing statistics on how costs will continue to skyrocket and hurt small businesses even next year.
Walk for Autism with Team Noah Knows
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Family, Health
Join Team Noah Knows! as we get ready to walk for our 3rd year with the Hosuton area WALKNOWFOR AUTISM SPEAKS to bring awareness, understanding and help the cause to cure autism.
Visit our team page to join and learn more about the event.
Date: Saturday, October 24th, 2009
Location: Reliant Park, Westridge Lot
Registration opens: 8:00am
Walk Start: 10:00am
Map: www.reliantpark.com/directionsandparking
Parking: On Site in Main Street Lot
Activities: Kid’s Activities and Family Fun!
Additional information: The walk route for the 2009 Walk Now for Autism is approximately 2 miles in length and will wrap around the many features of Reliant Park including the home of the Texans, Reliant Stadium, and the Astrodome. The walk will both begin and end in the Westridge Lot.
Parking will be free until 10:00am in the Main Street Lot. For maps and directions, visit www.reliantpark.com/directions.
Contact Kim Dixon at kim4child@sbcglobal.net for more 2009 team information and team t-shirt information.
President Obama’s Weekly Address – 09/12/09
Filed under: Black Blogger Postings, Business, Family, Health, Obama, Politics
The President discusses a staggering new report from the Treasury Department indicating that under the status quo, around half of all Americans under 65 will lose their health coverage at some point over the next ten years. He pledges not to allow this future to unfold: “In the United States of America, no one should have to worry that they’ll go without health care – not for one year, not for one month, not for one day. And once I sign my health reform plan into law – they won’t.”
Support the AHA Heart Walk Dallas 2009
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Family, General, Health, Society & Culture
Okay, this is a quick last minute petition to support the American Heart Association’s Dallas Heart Walk 2009. I’ve participated in the event and think it’s a worthwhile organization to support. For those who do not know, heart disease and stroke is very prevalent in the black community and events like this help raise money for research and improving treatments to combat these diseases.
I’m sure you know someone who has high blood pressure, diabetes (sugar) or high cholesterol. The American Heart Association is dedicated to helping people learn how to control and improve their quality of life by reducing the number of deaths from coronary heart disease. If there’s anyone who’s down for that, it’s me. My dad died of a stroke at the young age of 57. His first stroke happened in his early 40s. When I do walk in Heart Walk, I do it for him and my family. I do it because I understand what heart disease and stroke can do to a family. I do it because I want to bring awareness to others who may not know how they can prevent it.
If you would like to donate, please follow the link here. Donations can be accepted at any time throughout the year. If you are interested in walking in Heart Walk, I’ve provided some information below. For additional information, you can visit the Frequently Asked Questions page on the event website.
The Dallas Heart Walk is Saturday, September 12, 2009. The Opening Ceremony starts 8:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 9:00 a.m. The Dallas Walk will start at Victory Park (at American Airlines Center), 2500 Victory Avenue, Dallas, 75219 and will take a path through downtown for a total distance of 3 miles. Parking is free at the American Airlines Center in Lot F, Lot E and the Platinum Parking Garage. If you want to take the rail, the Red and Blue Line will be running to the American Airlines Center. DART passes are available from your Heart Walk staff person in limited quantities. DART passes will be acceptable for use on the light rail, buses and the TRE.
Jon Stewart Interviews Healthcare “Death Panel” Lady
Filed under: Blog Entries, Health, Laughable, Legal, Politics, Society & Culture
Last night Jon Stewart interviewed the Former Lt. Governor of New York Betsy McCaughey, who is a strong critic of the Obama Administration’s healthcare plan. They didn’t show all of the first part of the interview, but I’m sure if you’re a lawyer, you’ll be able to get what they’re talking about.
The funny thing about these Congressional bills is that they seem to be subject to interpretation and everyone seems to “read into it” differently. I’m glad the President is pushing the issue of reform. There’s no perfect way to do this and I hope that Congress can come to an agreement on what it will take to get every American health insurance.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Exclusive – Betsy McCaughey Extended Interview Pt. 1 | ||||
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| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Exclusive – Betsy McCaughey Extended Interview Pt. 2 | ||||
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H1N1 Preparedness and HIV Webinar
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Family, General, Health, Society & Culture
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is working hard to inform the public about how to prepare for and prevent H1N1 flu.
Know What to Do About the Flu:Visit http://www.flu.gov
To ensure that the HIV community is prepared for the H1N1 flu and understands how H1N1 can affect people living with HIV and AIDS, AIDS.gov is sponsoring a webinar on H1N1 Preparedness and HIV.
What: H1N1 Preparedness and HIV: A webinar for Federal staff and grantees who serve people living with HIV and AIDS
When: Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 2:00 – 2:45 pm (EDT)
Join experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and HIV grantees to hear an update on H1N1 preparedness, especially as it applies to people living with HIV and AIDS.
Register by Friday, August 28 by visiting www.AIDS.gov/webinars
Questions? Please email contact@AIDS.gov. For more information about H1N1, visit www.flu.gov.
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