November, 2006
Florida Medicare Fraud Abuse Reported to Local News:     

Imagine--being charged thousands of dollars for a wheelchair and you didn't even need one. Well, it's happening... and you may not know it, but taxpayers are paying for it.
For six months retiree, Irma Popkin, has been bombarded with phony bills.
The charges, coming from a company called "ARD Medical Equipment Inc."

On one of her statements she was charged more than $200 for blood glucose monitors. The next statement, $1400 for dressings for her "open wounds." These supplies are things most diabetics need, but there’s just one problem...Irma Popkin is not a diabetic.

But, Popkin does not have to pay for those bills. We the people do! The federal government paid those bills because Irma is on Medicare.
When we introduced you to Irma Popkin back in July, the 75 year old was exercising, cooking, and even climbing ladders to clean above her chandelier. So it was a shock when more statements started coming in the mail.
“Why should any company be taking tax dollars from people like you and me?" Popkin said.

In the second round of bills, ARD Medical Equipment Inc. told Medicare---active Irma--needed a motorized scooter…and a wheelchair to get around!
"I’m very mobile."

But again taxpayers paid the bills. This time, shelling out almost 16 thousand dollars!
"I never ordered anything from them [and] they never sent me anything...You can expect a company to make one mistake on one invoice, but four totaling over 19 thousand dollars? That’s a very large mistake."
So, after our first report, Medicare says they investigated.

The agency found Irma Popkin’s charges were inappropriate and ordered the company "ARD Medical Equipment Inc." to pay the taxpayers back.

"That's when Contact 5 thought this story was over...but we were really wrong."
Another bill another victim.
Nannette Zoltorofe is a cancer survivor, so imagine her surprise when she received bills for things like: leg and arms rests for her wheelchair?
“You get very few supplies when you have cancer, you basically get shots...I mean you know you get treatment, but it has nothing to do with walking, it has nothing to do with wheelchairs, it has nothing to do with restraints."
Nannette says she was shocked when she saw the electric wheelchair on the list of things billed.

"We’ve got absolutely nothing that’s on those lists! I never ordered any of this. I didn’t expect any of this and this is almost up to 20 thousand dollars now that has been paid out by Medicare."
And once again the taxpayers paid in full. But as we are about to show you Nanette and Irma are just the tip of the iceberg. At one doctor's office in Atlantis the phony claims are being reported too. Sixteen patients have claimed they have been ripped off because of "bogus billing" to their Medicare accounts.
On those lists of things: An IV pole, foot rests on a wheelchair, the arm rests on a wheelchair...

Laura Garcia is the office manager inside that doctor’s office in Atlantis. She says patients getting these "bogus bills" face a bigger problem if one day they really need a wheelchair or an IV pole.
"Those patients that need that equipment are not going to receive it if Medicare already believes they have it."
Kimberly Brandt, spokeswoman for Medicare, says abuse of the program is always investigated and that is happens more often than they would like it to. She says medical equipment companies are tough to monitor.

"Durable medical equipment suppliers are relatively easy for people to get in and out of as a business and unfortunately we have people who try and get those suppliers with the intent of defrauding the government."
Brandt also told NewsChannel Five that in Florida fraud and abuse is a problem because of the large amount of retirees that live in the state.
Contact five wanted to know more about the company causing problems for Irma and Nanette--ARD Medical Equipment Inc. So we set out to find the owner. State records show the business operates out of Orlando, so we took a road trip and found their office in a strip mall.

But no one was working when we stopped by. Then corporate records led us to Miaimi where ARD’s owners run another shop called ---ARD Medical Supplies.
We waited for that office to open, but again, no one ever showed up for work.

But you won't believe what did show up when Contact 5 kept digging...a twist in Irma Popkin’s story.

Just when she thought her "bogus billing" problems were gone She says, more phony statements arrived. The company making claims this time? "AROL4."
Contact 5 checked the background of this business and the owners...the same people who own ARD Medical!

And according to Medicare, businesses like these--as we found out--are tough to track. So patients better be keeping a close eye over their statements.
"Many people are never gonna look at their bills...I mean let’s be honest, they file them in the garbage [and] most people don’t bother to look to see what’s on them. Medicare is gonna run outta money if they keep this up.”

Tips to Prevent or Catch Medical ID Theft:

• Closely monitor any "Explanation of Benefits" sent by an public or private health insurer:
  The kinds of problems you may see can include:
  - Being charged for services that you did not receive .
  -Being charged for office visits you did not make.
  -Being charged for medical equipment you did not receive
• Request a listing of benefits from your health insurers:
  Once a year, request a listing of benefits paid in your name by your health insurer. It is important to do this pro-actively, without waiting for the insurance company to send you a listing.
• Request an accounting of disclosures:
  An accounting of disclosures is a right under HIPAA that few individuals know about or take action on.
• Request a copy of current medical files from each health care provider:
  You can ask your health care providers to allow you to inspect or have a copy of the medical file that they maintain about you.
• Correct erroneous and false information in your file:
  If you discover your medical or insurance records contain erroneous information, work to amend those records.
• Keep an eye on your credit report:
  A number of victims of medical identity theft discovered they were victims by checking their credit report.

Source:
http://www.wptv.com/Investigative/111706_MedicalIdentityTheftPart2.cfm
ISRAEL PEREZ JR.
WPTV-Newschannel 5
Associate Producer/Reporter
1100 Banyan Boulevard
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Office: 561-653-5771
Fax:    561-671-3729
Iperez@wptv.com