What You Can Do to Help Prevent Healthcare Fraud and Abuse
- Review your benefit statements. Make sure all services or supplies that are paid on your behalf were received.
- Be aware of the treatment and services you receive. Ask you doctor to explain the need or reason for the services or treatment being ordered.
- Report any discrepancies to your insurance plan or other payer. Use toll-free hotlines listed on invoices to report suspicious charges. Sometimes they are simple clerical errors.
- Beware of "free" medical services or treatments. Sometimes illicit entities use the lure of "free" services to obtain patient names and insurance information for use in fraudulent claim submissions. Always question what is being offered and who is paying the cost. If you are not satisfied with the answers, decline the offer.
- Protect your health insurance information. Safeguard your insurance card in the same way you would safeguard your credit card. It's that valuable!
- Don't give your insurance number to telephone marketers or door-to-door solicitors. Protect your healthcare insurance information and protect yourself from identity theft at the same time.
- Report instances where co-payments or deductibles are waived. A common indicator that a provider is obtaining inflated payments is the practice of waiving these fees.
Read more about what you can do to prevent medical fraud.
