Help us save $60 billion
- Kathy Goul, K-State Research & Extension Service
- Jun 5
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 27

Submitted by Kathy Goul, Family & Consumer Science Agent
K-State Research and Extension
Fraud costs Medicare $60 billion per year. It is hard to fathom what this number “looks like” when very seldom do I have $60 in my wallet! Unfortunately, this is a real number. Medicare fraud has a devastating impact on both beneficiaries and the Medicare program. In addition to the financial burden, fraud causes beneficiaries stress, their medical identities and potentially their health. It costs families, friends and caregivers worry and lost work when helping their loved ones recover from falling victim to Medicare fraud.

The good news is everyone can play a part in the fight against fraud. Medicare beneficiaries can monitor their insurance statements to make sure products and services received match what is on the statements. Caregivers can be on the lookout for items such as durable medical equipment (like boxes of knee braces) lying around the house that may have been shipped to the beneficiary without their doctor’s approval.
They can remind their client or loved one to never give out their Medicare number or other personal information over the phone.Families can also play a role in fraud prevention by talking to their loved ones about protecting their Medicare number just as they would a credit card number.
They can help their loved ones create a Medicare.gov account to access their Medicare statements online or remind them to open and review the statements when they come in the mail. They can also register their phone number on “do not call” lists and go to optoutprescreen.com to opt out of mailings.
Health care providers are a great source for information related to health care-related scams such as those related to durable medical equipment and genetic testing schemes. They can remind Medicare beneficiaries that products and services should only be ordered by physicians they regularly see. Needed medical items should never be ordered through TV ads or unsolicited calls.
Finally, community members can help by looking out for older neighbors. When in public, they can be aware of older individuals purchasing gift cards in large amounts. They can encourage those they know to talk to a trusted source about their Medicare questions and tell neighbors about the most recent Medicare scams and the importance of reporting fraud when it occurs.
Tackling a mountain of $60 billion is more intimidating than trying to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. When the numbers are well beyond our imagination, the tendency is to toss our hands up in the air and announce that our contribution wouldn’t even make a dent in it. But what if we change our mindset? What if we collectively look at how a small contribution, such as identifying $500 in fraud on a Medicare billing statement, can add up to a sizeable amount when we are all working to identify fraud? My challenge for us today is to change our mindset and be a part of the solution. Every person and every dollar counts – no matter how large or small.
Source: Senior Medicare Patrol. For more information or to report Medicare fraud, visit www.kdads.ks.gov.
Comentários