Medicare: Are Physicians, Hospitals, Medical Supply Stores, and Home Health Care Providers Over Charging Medicare?

Medicare pays out billions of dollars to physicians, hospitals, medical supply stores, and home health care providers. How often are these health care providers over charging Medicare? If Medicare had a different system and approach to how they are being charge for these services, they could save millions of dollars.

This is an example of how I think Medicare is being over charged. Being a diabetic I developed a sore (ulcer), I was sent over to physical therapy for them to access the wound. Upon arriving they looked at my sore and put me in their whirlpool for ten minutes. When I received the billing statement from Medicare, the hospital charged Medicare over $400. How Medicare can be charged $400 for 15 to 20 minutes of care is beyond me. Another time I went to physical therapy they observed my sore, changed the bandage and sent me home with a couple 4x4 bandages. When I received this billing statement in the mail, they charged Medicare over $300. You spend more time waiting to be seen by health care providers, than the time it takes for them to take care for you. They must charge you for the time you wait as well.

Medicare pays a substantial amount of money to medical supply stores as well. Here is an example as to why I believe they also over charge Medicare. I have been in a wheelchair for over 20 years, which Medicare makes the payments for. Each month Medicare is charged $150 to $200 for the wheelchair I rent from a medical supply store. This is both the medical supply stores fault as well as Medicare's fault. After 20 years how much do you think Medicare has paid out for the wheelchair I am only renting? If Medicare paid $100 a month for the wheelchair and wheelchairs range from $300 to $1,500 to own. If you do the math, Medicare has already paid $24,000 for my wheelchair I am only renting. Now if Medicare would have paid out right for my chair, even if they had to pay $1,500, Medicare could of saved $22,500. Imagine the money Medicare could save a year if they took this approach for millions of Medicare holders.