More chillingly, however, the administration is defining Medicare fraud down to include “unnecessary” and “ineffective” care. And to root this out, it plans to make expanded use of private mercenaries—officially called Recovery Audit Contracts—who will be authorized to go to doctors’ offices and rummage through patients’ records, matching them with billing claims to uncover illicit charges.
And that IS chilling. The sad part is, that it IS needed. Medicare fraud is big. Right down to the masseuses who overcharge so they can make full price out of medicare patients.
BUT….get this…
This is utter insanity. And it has been caused by the transformation of health care into a government-controlled industry where the natural, self-regulating forces of the market have been badly subverted. There is nothing left but the coercive apparatus of the state to keep patients and doctors in line. This would be unimaginable where the customers receiving or contracting for services are actually the ones paying for it.
Amen.
Medicare isn’t going away any time soon so we’re stuck with it. And sadly that means policing it. Doctors have had years to police themselves and frankly I would approve of a more “voluntary” scheme and downward pressure for doctors to police themselves but yeah….some policing needs to be done if tax payers are going to be paying for the services.
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