The FBI has issued a public service announcement warning the public about hospice fraud schemes.
“ Scammers are enrolling Medicare patients in hospice care for services they do not need or for services that are not provided,” the alert states. “Enrollment can also occur without the patient's knowledge, allowing the scammers to bill Medicare for a patient that is not present in the hospice facility.”
Tips provided to the public include using Care Compare to look up provider ratings and avoiding those with low star ratings.
Other tips for the public include:
- Never give out Medicare or other insurance information to anyone who is not your doctor.
- Never accept incentives like gift cards or money in return for hospice services and be wary of too good to be true offers.
- Always review your explanation of benefits statements and Medicare Summary Notices for unknown providers and services.