Fraudsters with fake medical equipment companies and other fronts are scamming Medicare and Medicaid out of billions each year, CNBC reported March 9.
Medicare and Medicaid fraud tops $100 billion each year, according to estimates from the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association. Omar Pérez Aybar, a special agent for HHS' Office of Inspector General in South Florida, told CNBC this number is likely higher.
Mr. Pérez Aybar said the agency is under-resourced to tackle the number of fraud cases it receives. CNBC reported Medicaid and Medicare fraud has gotten more brazen in recent years, with much of fraudulent billing coming from sham medical equipment companies.
In South Florida, up to 90 percent of durable medical equipment companies are fraudulent, Mr. Pérez Aybar told CNBC.
"South Florida, without question, is the ground zero for healthcare fraud, but it's only one state. There are 49 others and territories where these types of schemes are occurring," Mr. Pérez Aybar said.
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