In two short months, we will face a new congress – who’s stated primary goal is to remove the historic healthcare bill and expose numerous patients across the country to a lack of access to medical care.  Conspicuously absent from most press releases or even the debate is the devastating personal and economic impact of medicare fraud.  Here is a fascinating and disturbing study on its scope.
 
The NHCAA is a non-profit organization founded by the insurance industry in partnership with the US government.  The article cites Senator Henry Waxman’s concerns over the impact of this abuse on the safety of both our economy and frail patients:

 “Health care fraud does more than cost money. It corrodes the quality of care, and weakens the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
 

Submitting patients to unnecessary and sometimes dangerous procedures, diverting prescription drugs for gain and misuse, allowing unlicensed health care providers to have access to patients, and stealing patient identities all undermine the quality of our nation’s health care system. Fighting health care fraud isn’t just about recovering money lost to fraud; it’s about protecting patients from fraud’s devastating effects. The plague of health care fraud directly impacts health care quality.