What is Healthcare Fraud?
Healthcare fraud is an intentional deception or misrepresentation made by a person with the knowledge that the deception could result in some unauthorized benefit to himself or some other person, including any act that constitutes fraud under applicable federal or state law.
Provider Fraud
Some examples of Provider Fraud:
- Billing for services or supplies that were not provided
- Altering or falsifying claim forms to obtain a higher reimbursement amount
- Deliberately applying for duplicate reimbursement in order to get paid twice
- Soliciting, offering, or receiving a kickback, bribe, or rebate for member referrals
- False representation with respect to the nature of the services rendered or charges for such services, identity of the person receiving or rendering the services, dates of the services, etc.
- Filing claims for services that are non-covered but billed as if they were covered services
- Claims involving collusion between a provider and a beneficiary, resulting in higher cost or charges to CenterCare
Member Fraud
Some examples of Member Fraud:
- Use of another person's Benefit card in obtaining medical care
- Providing false information on your CenterCare application to make you eligible for coverage
- Altering or changing a prescription
What CenterCare is doing to Stop Fraud
CenterCare has established its Special Investigation Unit to investigate allegations of Fraud by Providers, Members, Contractors, Employees or others. The CenterCare Special Investigation Unit is staffed by trained professionals who will vigorously look into each case. The CenterCare Special Investigation Unit has recently implemented a state of the art Fraud and Abuse detection system to further enhance its fraud fighting capabilities. CenterCare is committed to identifying and stopping healthcare fraud.
Why you should report Healthcare Fraud
According to The National Healthcare Fraud Association, "...estimates that of the nation's annual health care outlay, at least 3 percent - or $51 billion in calendar-year 2003 - is lost to outright fraud. Other estimates by government and law enforcement agencies place the loss as high as 10 percent of our annual expenditure - or $170 billion - each year." Like many other crimes Healthcare Fraud acts like a hidden tax increasing the costs for healthcare to everyone.
How to Contact the Special Investigation Unit at CenterCare
- Call the Special Investigations Unit Fraud Hotline at 1-877-259-8428
- Email the Special Investigations Unit at reportfraud@centercare.org
- Or mail a referral to:
CenterCare
95-25 Queens Boulevard
Rego Park, NY 11374
Attn: Special Investigations Unit
- All Correspondence will be kept confidential
Learn more about Healthcare Fraud
Visit these sites to learn more about healthcare fraud and how it affects you.