On Wednesday, Rebecca participated in a Webinar for an Illinois Workers’ Compensation Association. She presented on the topic “Tips to Identify Healthcare Fraud in a Workers’ Compensation Setting.” In front of an audience of case managers, attorneys, human resource personnel and other healthcare professionals, Rebecca had a lively discussion on many aspects of healthcare fraud in a Workers’ Compensation setting.

Some highlights include:
Overall numbers –
The Insurance Information Institute estimates that all property/casualty insurance fraud cost insurers $30 billion annually.

Workers’ Compensation fraud accounts for approximately 25% or $7.2 billion a year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).

The NICB characterizes Workers’ Compensation fraud as the “fastest growing segment of insurance fraud” in the nation.

Most studies indicate that the three parties primarily driving the cost of workers’ comp fraud are employers, medical providers, and employees.

Tips on spotting fraud:
Worker Claim Fraud
• Number of days worked and amount of salary inconsistent with occupation
• Injured worker disputes average weekly wage due to additional income (i.e., per diem and/or 1099 income)
• Cross-outs, white-outs and erasures on documents
• Injured worker files for benefits in a state other than principle location of the alleged industrial injury or occupational disease
• Injured worker-listed occupation is inconsistent with employer’s stated business
Employer Fraud
• Business displays or presents a Certificate of Coverage that contains inaccurate data, such as an implausible period of coverage
• Cross-outs, white-outs and/or erasures on documents, such as the Application for Ohio Workers’ Compensation Coverage (U-3) or Payroll Report (DP-21)
• Business name is not consistent with type of work being performed
• Number of employees, classifications and payroll are inconsistent
Provider Fraud
• Injured worker does not recall having received the billed service
• Provider’s medical reports read almost identically even though they are for different patients with different conditions
• Much higher healthcare costs than expected for the allowed injury type
• Frequency of treatments or duration of treatment period is greater than expected for allowed injury type, especially for older (non-catastrophic) claims

When investigating workers’ compensation fraud, always request detailed medical records and records of the injury. If all the facts don’t add up – you might be looking at fraudulent activity.

A recent Wall Street Journal article explained that employers are taking new initiatives to decrease healthcare costs. One simple solution employers are turning to – dependent eligibility audits. Dependents costs employers around $2,100 per year and an average of 2 – 10% of all dependents are ineligible.

Typically employers do not require employees to submit documents to confirm the eligibility of dependents – many currently use the honor system, entrusting that employees aren’t out the cheat their employers. However, times are tough and employers are viewing these dependent eligibility audits as an easy way to cut cost without laying off employers or decreasing health benefits.

So how do the audits typically work? Medical Business Associates, Inc. conducts electronic audits using a secure sever and email communication. Typically, there is an amnesty period for employees to drop dependents without penalty. Then employers receive information about required documents for each dependent. Employees then upload, mail or fax the required information to keep their dependents on the plan.

According to a CNN article, removing ineligible dependents could save companies between 4% to 6% of their annual healthcare costs. With Medical Business Associates, Inc. electronic solution, all required documents are stored, so if a company decides to conduct a follow up audit, employees will not be required to submit duplicate birth or marriage certificates if dependents status hasn’t changed.

For more information on MBA’s audit solution visit here.

All puns aside, the government is really turning up the HEAT on healthcare fraud. HEAT (Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team) was established in May 2009 to crack down and prevent fraud, waste and abuse in a healthcare system that loses an estimated $60 to $80 billion per year to fraudsters and the “ethically challenged.”

HEAT compliments the joint DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force which is a multi-agency team of federal, state and local investigators designed to combat Medicare fraud using high-tech data analytic techniques and a focus on community policing. Strike Force teams are currently in Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Brooklyn, Tampa and Baton Rouge.

The HEAT task force is comprised of top-level law enforcement agents, prosecutors and staff from both the Department of Justice and the Department Health and Human Services.

How is HEAT weathering the storm? By all accounts, this new task force is living up to the hype. Thirty-six people in five different states have been arrested and 94 indicted following an investigation regarding a Medicare insurance scam totaling over $250 million. Investigators apprehended nurses, doctors and other health professionals in Miami, New York, Detroit, Houston and Baton Rouge.

Attorney General Eric Holder was quoted saying, “With [these] arrests, we’re putting would-be criminals on notice: Healthcare fraud is no longer a safe bet.”

What are the fraudsters doing these days? Well, according to reports, NOT getting away with healthcare fraud thanks to the new task force. The government is in hot pursuit of those that are bilking the system.
As an investigator, here are some sure fire tips to help spot fraud in a healthcare setting:

1. Make sure you have a system in process to collect diagnosis and procedure information.
2. Track diagnosis and procedures provided, even if just by volume.
3. By simply having the right information in a single source data base, we can begin to ask the data, “Where is the hanging fruit activity?” For example, how many procedures are done in one day by one provider? How long does a patient wait to be seen? How far apart are the actual treatments?
4. Finally, tracking the different types of healthcare fraud schemes is just as valuable. A common scheme in many countries is falsifying mental and emotional states of an individual as a ruse to steal assets which lead to misrepresenting identity to receive healthcare services.

Regardless, one thing for sure is that we can always depend on the creativity of the ethically challenged.

This past month I was double billed for tickets to a sporting event and charged for services at a health club that I did not receive. My credit card company did not “catch” this activity (nor did they have the information to know that the charges were incorrect – and perhaps fraudulent). I was able to reverse the charges because I understand how to read my credit card statement and can monitor it for inappropriate charges. Imagine if we empowered employees to look at healthcare the same way.

By recognizing how and when employees can add value, organizations can learn useful ways to influence their growth. With the challenge of increasing healthcare costs, employees can also help their organizations reduce their healthcare costs – and even prevent their organizations from being victims of healthcare fraud.

People are good consumers – of automobiles, home appliances, engagement rings and just about any other purchase that deeply affects their own “bottom lines”. Now that payors are shifting more expense to patients through co-payments, out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles, etc. and patients have greater access to healthcare information then ever before, it is the right time to get employees engaged in their healthcare expenditures. Clearly when an employee makes a better financial healthcare decision, their employer also benefits.

Because of the complexity of our healthcare system, it is important to teach employees how to be effective healthcare consumers and arm them with accurate information to make optimal decisions about their care. Patient Advocates help patients navigate our healthcare system – and can train employees to gather, assemble and use information to mange, control and reduce their medical expenses. Critical information that employees need to understand to make informed healthcare decisions include, but are not limited to:

1. Medical records

2. Beneficiary rules

3. Healthcare bills

4. Explanation of Benefits (EOBs)

5. Clinical quality outcome measures

The key is for organizations to explain to employees the incentives of being a conscientious healthcare consumer, including but not limited to:

1. Preventing costly clinically adverse outcomes

2. Preventing inappropriate payments for healthcare services and products

3. Safeguarding personal healthcare information from Medical Identity Theft

People know how to be conscientious consumers – we just need to teach them how to be conscientious healthcare consumers.

Rebecca Busch’s healthcare tips were recently featured on EmpowHER a health and wellness site for women.

EmpowHER brings together women of all backgrounds to share their health stories, triumphs and tragedies. For Rebecca’s part, she spoke on what she knows best, healthcare fraud.

Below are her tips:

1. Counterfeit Drugs
If you take a medication for a chronic condition, save the packaging from the month before and compare the bottle, packaging or the pill itself.
2. Double Billing
Look at your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) after each doctor’s visit. Ask yourself, “Did I actually see that doctor or receive those services?” If the answer is no, call your insurer immediately.
3. Medical Identity Theft
If you don’t monitor your EOBs fraudsters have a better chance of stealing your Medical Identity. This can cause both financial and physical harm – if someone else’s information is included in your medical record you could receive false diagnoses. Take ownership of your healthcare finances and request your medical records and bills once a year.
4. Medication Delivery Errors
Deaths occur each year because patients are given prescriptions at the wrong time, in the wrong dose and of the wrong medications. Make sure you understand your medication regime and that the hospital staff is adhering to it.
5. Phantom Treatments
Some healthcare criminals bill insurance companies for services never received by patients. If you receive a bill that doesn’t make sense, contact the provider or your insurer.
6. Invalid Licenses
Some doctors practice without a valid license. To verify a license, find the Department of Regulation for your state and look up your provider’s name. Here, you can also see if they have ever had a disciplinary action against them.
7. Fake Insurance
Dishonest insurance agents and brokers sell discount cards and insurance cards for fake policies. Any health insurance plans that are priced below industry norms are likely fake. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it is.
8. Prescription Mix-Ups
Medication errors occur more than you think – a hospital on the East Cost mixed up medication in roughly 1 in 8 prescriptions filled. Take an active role in your care and check your pills to ensure you have been given the drug you were prescribed.
9. Bad & Low Quality Care
Unqualified and untrained surgeons perform surgeries. Doctors use defective medical equipment to perform exams. Check the reputations of your doctors and facilities. Look for complaints lodged against them.

Earlier this summer, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report identifying the challenges that CMS faces in implementing strategies to prevent overpayments and fraud, waste, and abuse — including focusing on pre- and post-payment claims review on the most vulnerable areas.

Our administration has set battling healthcare fraud, waste and abuse as a high priority. A recent study found $835 million in questionable Medicare payments identified by private contractors in 2007.

Some states are following suit for their Medicaid programs. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services also recently issued a report on the efficiencies and improvements in the Illinois Medicaid program that included measures to prevent Medicaid fraud and overpayments by contracting with third parties to conduct payment and recapture audits. The State of Indiana also recently issued a Request for Services to detect fraud, waste and abuse in its Medicaid program.

It is also important to stop money from going out-the-door in the first place. Preventing inappropriate payments can be easier than “recovering” inappropriate payments after the fact — as evidenced by that fact that perpetrators often “close shop” and move on when they are notified of claim disputes. The GAO calls for Medicare to improve the pre-payment review of claims. As predictive modeling technologies continue to evolve pre-payment claim review will become a critical tool to combating fraud.

The “ethically challenged” understand the amount of money in healthcare – and do not limit their prey to government sponsored programs. It is critical for private payers, plan administrators and self-funded employer plans to follow suit in both pre- and post-claim review.

On July 26, 2010 Medical Business Associates’ CEO Rebecca Busch was featured on Chicago’s own WGN Midday News with Steve Sanders. During the segment, Your Money Matters, Rebecca provided tips for getting your personal healthcare portfolio in shape.

Rebecca’s appearance highlighted her latest book, Personal Healthcare Portfolio: Your Personal Health & Wellness Record. During the segment she offered viewers valuable time and money saving techniques when it comes to healthcare finances.

Here are some tips she provided during the interview:

1. Get your records organized and separate medical from financial.

2. Learn the reimbursement lingo in healthcare — start asking your doctor “What CPT codes are you billing me for?” That is a procedure code — patients never see this. Did you know doctors charge in increments of 15/20/45/60 minutes procedure codes? This is why you have to ask what code they are charging.

3. Ask your doctor “What diagnosis code are they billing in MY name?”

4. Ask for itemized copies of your bills as you receive your care.

5. Make sure you collect your health records as you receive your care — or obtain them once per year (ask your provider what their policy is on retention of records).

6. If your insurance company provides you an EOB (explanation of benefits) without procedure codes — ask them annually to print a claim file with the information. This is the best way to avoid being a victim of medical identity theft.

7. Be vigilant — although we have a healthcare crisis there is lots of money floating around.

To view the entire interview please visit WGN’s site here.

While much of the focus of the public discussion surrounding healthcare reform has centered on the expansion of coverage to the uninsured, we are all aware that the reform will also have a major effect on both fully-insured and self-insured employer sponsored plans. By now, employers should know that failing to meet government mandates for coverage and affordability will result in monetary penalties.

But a seldom discussed impact of healthcare reform on employers is their increased exposure to fraud, waste and abuse. For example,

1) No lifetime or annual limits: If plans have ineligible members or dependents on their plan… now there is no limit to how much employers could be inappropriately paying for coverage of ineligible members.

2) Extension of dependent coverage: Now that employers must allow dependent coverage to continue for an adult up to age 26, plans will have an influx of new dependents… that means more potential ineligible dependents.

3) Waiting periods limited: Employers will have to provide coverage within no more than 90 days… that means employers face the risk of paying for ineligible dependents sooner.

Employers that do not regularly conduct eligibility audits, to ensure that they are not extending coverage to ineligible members and dependents, will face a significant increase in risk due to employee abuse (intentional or not) of benefit coverage. Eligibility audits are a simple way stop inappropriate healthcare expenditures. The reality is that when rules change, “the ethically challenged” will find new ways to capitalize.

For more information on the impact of healthcare reform, check out McGuireWoods Healthcare Reform Guide: Installment No. 8.

Information Security Media Group – a media company specializing entirely on information technology risk management for vertical industries, recently interviewed Medical Business Associates, Inc. President & CEO Rebecca Busch for her thoughts and commentary for a podcast “Cracking Down on Insurance Fraud.”

Rebecca highlighted the fact that a good foundation based on fraud risk assessments needs to be established to fight fraud. She also points out that insurers and providers need to regularly audit all network activity to assess risk and potential vulnerabilities where holes might be found.

Her opinion on Healthcare Reform – it might lead to an increase in insurance fraud in the short term as information systems are adjusted and new rules are implemented but should eventually decrease fraud, as more individuals will receive health coverage.

Medical Business Associates, Inc. President & CEO was featured in the Chicago Tribune Monday, April 5th 2010 in an article by Ann Meyer titled, “Consumer Education on Medical Spending a Key Component of Many Startups.”

The article explains that many small businesses will be faced with numerous choices due to the passage of healthcare reform.

Rebecca asserts that education is important when understanding healthcare reform and how it will affect your business. “The one thing you can control is educating the individual. We spend too much on healthcare not be educating the frontline.”

At the end of the article Rebecca also offers some tips about going about acquiring healthcare. Here is a highlight of what she had to say.
1. Watch out for fraudulent billing, counterfeit medication and medical identity theft. Interesting fact: Americans spend an average of $6,400 every second in healthcare fraud, waste and abuse compared with the estimated $3,400 per second the new legislation is expected to cost.
2. Ask about your bills – overbilling by healthcare providers contributes to the high cost of treatment. Make sure you understand what you are being charged AND for what you are being charged. Example a doctor might bill with a code that says you were at the office for 60 minutes when you only actually saw the doctor for 10.
3. Make sure you are buying insurance from a legitimate insurance provider. Rebecca states, “One of the fastest-growing areas is selling fake insurance.” Research a company before you buy insurance from them. Just remember the adage – if it looks to good to be true, it probably is.

Read full article here.