Medicare fraud throughout the United States is an unfortunate fact of life for insurance companies, ambulance service providers, hospitals, and patients. In many cases, Medicare fraud involves emergency medical services such as ambulance companies that are misused by individuals who are not suffering from serious illness or injury and are trying to take advantage of what they consider a “free service.” Medicare fraud costs everyone money because it abuses the system and adds unnecessary expense.
Medicare fraud takes place when patients who should not have to resort to ambulances for basic transportation take advantage of them anyway. For qualified individuals, there is Medicaid — a federally funded to provide non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) to program participants. Medicaid will provide transportation free of charge if the recipient claims there are no other forms of transportation available.
Fortunately, most individuals seeking medical service do not commit Medicare fraud for medical care. Certainly anyone who has been injured or becomes dangerously ill should never hesitate to call 911 to summon emergency medical personnel and an ambulance service. Fast and effective emergency treatment and transport to a medical facility can mean the difference between life and death. But someone who doesn’t feel well and wants a free ride to the hospital should think twice about making that call. That could very well qualify as Medicare fraud.
Medicare ambulance claims, just like everything involved with Medicare, must meet certain requirements to be considered valid ambulance transport claims. The main factor is the transport must be considered “medically necessary” under Federal law.
In addition to being Medicare fraud experts, Medstar are also experts in:
- Medical Transportation Services
- Private Ambulance Services
- Transportation for Seniors
- Education Services
- Medicare Ambulance Services
To learn more about Medicare fraud and how you can avoid unintentionally committing it if you’re unsure of the law, contact the Medicare fraud experts at MedStar.
