Personal care attendants are key to helping the disabled and elderly live as independently as possible. Some of the duties performed include helping patients with personal hygiene, light housekeeping and meal preparation. Medicaid pays to provide such personal care to eligible beneficiaries so they can stay in their own homes instead of being placed in facilities, which can actually increase costs for the government benefits program. (But as you know, wherever benefits are doled out, fraudsters are lining up to take what is not theirs.)
An article posted on KMOV.com covers how a personal care attendant in Missouri billed Medicaid through four companies for which she worked. The trouble was spotted when she reportedly provided services to two or three patients at the same time. (This woman is either super-efficient or good at falsifying forms. My guess is the latter.)
The 55-year-old woman pled guilty to two felonies of Medicaid fraud and one felony of stealing by deceit. (Deceitful is definitely the correct word to use for her illegal behavior.) She is required to serve five years of probation and pay a total of $25,000 to Missouri’s Medicaid program. (I’m guessing she won’t be working as a personal care assistant anymore.)
As the Baby Boomer generation ages and demand for personal care services increases, there will be more opportunities for criminals to steal valuable health care benefits on behalf of their unsuspecting patients. Government agencies responsible for these programs and the companies who participate in them need to keep lowering the boom on this fraud.
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