Cal: On Medicare Fraud

Back to you Fred. I have read that the most widespread Medicare fraud is through home care services for the elderly. They are the one's who allegedly stick their heads in and charge for several hours. The elderly are not as apt to notice, I guess. It's not so much doctors, though we have all experienced that 30 second visit. Still, they see more in those 30 seconds than I would see ever see. Sometimes less is more, I think, when you're being poked and prodded. But in my case it's not Medicare.

One possible contributing factor to the "look-in" Dr. visits might be this: Medicare pays a fee for service rate of about 50% of the going charge rate. If a surgeon operates she might be paid $700.00 for a knee replacement. That fee includes follow-up visits for several months. I've read that surgeons end up making as little as $30/hr. when all is said and done. If true it would help explain the short visits.

Anyway, we've come up with some good questions in our little tribe. It's doesn't appear that congress, in their wisdom, bothered to address any of these issues. They got the cart before the horse. Or to quote Bo--"bass ackwards".

Cal.