While most Southern states have determined their participation in Obamacare, North Carolina is still weighing the options."I think that North Carolina is more in a wait-and-see mode," said Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, one of the state House's chief budget-writers.
Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue is still evaluating "what's in the best interest of North Carolina families and North Carolina taxpayers," spokeswoman Chris Mackey said. But since she leaves office in January, Perdue's successor will likely set the tone on any expansion, which could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars to carry out.
Not only is the implementation of this intrusive federal government program costly, so is the concomitant fraud that invariably follows. Senator Tom Coburn proclaimed that 20 cents of every Medicare dollar goes to fraud. Of course, nobody knows the exact figures. It’s fraud! It’s incalculable.
With that in mind, North Carolina has just recently referred over two hundred cases of Medicaid fraud to the Attorney General’s office:
Raleigh, N.C. — One day after the WRAL Investigates team reported on potential fraud in North Carolina's Medicaid system, the state Department of Health and Human Services announced that it is investigating 206 providers across the state with unusual Medicaid billing.
Most of the potential fraud cases are local, with 103 in the Triangle, 43 in the Charlotte area and 24 in Greenville and surrounding counties, state officials said. Ten of those cases have been turned over the state Attorney General's Office for review.
The WRAL Investigates team reported Monday that 23,000 billing hours were linked to a licensed therapist in Wake County last year, even though there are only 8,760 hours in a year.
Billing records show psychologist Eunice Ngumba-Gatabaki worked, on average, 60 hours per day, which cost the state $1.79 million last year.
"People should be outraged," said Gov. Bev Perdue. "Those are dollars that aren't there to treat older sick people or children."
Gatabaki's daily average increased last June as records show she worked more than 100 hours per day for 17 days. She says "there may have been some bills inadvertently billed under my provider number that may be attributable to other licensed providers."
I personally have had an experience with Medicaid grifters. In my youth, I worked on the house of Sheldon Weinberg. I remember the night, I looked up from a book I was reading, and there on the television was Ronnie Weinberg on Unsolved Mysteries. Here is the video clip (please excuse the bad audio):
Raleigh, N.C. — One day after the WRAL Investigates team reported on potential fraud in North Carolina's Medicaid system, the state Department of Health and Human Services announced that it is investigating 206 providers across the state with unusual Medicaid billing.
Most of the potential fraud cases are local, with 103 in the Triangle, 43 in the Charlotte area and 24 in Greenville and surrounding counties, state officials said. Ten of those cases have been turned over the state Attorney General's Office for review.
The WRAL Investigates team reported Monday that 23,000 billing hours were linked to a licensed therapist in Wake County last year, even though there are only 8,760 hours in a year.
Billing records show psychologist Eunice Ngumba-Gatabaki worked, on average, 60 hours per day, which cost the state $1.79 million last year.
"People should be outraged," said Gov. Bev Perdue. "Those are dollars that aren't there to treat older sick people or children."
Gatabaki's daily average increased last June as records show she worked more than 100 hours per day for 17 days. She says "there may have been some bills inadvertently billed under my provider number that may be attributable to other licensed providers."
I personally have had an experience with Medicaid grifters. In my youth, I worked on the house of Sheldon Weinberg. I remember the night, I looked up from a book I was reading, and there on the television was Ronnie Weinberg on Unsolved Mysteries. Here is the video clip (please excuse the bad audio):
These people had it all: a beautiful house in Florida, a condo in Trump Towers, a Rolls Royce, a Zimmer, and a private plane; and all at the expense of the U.S. Taxpayer.
North Carolina should weigh all options when it comes to Obamacare, particularly when it comes to waste and fraud.
Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/08/14/2268630/nc-isnt-set-on-medicaid-changes.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/27/tom-coburn/coburn-says-20-percent-every-medicare-dollar-goes-/
http://www.wral.com/news/local/wral_investigates/story/11129883/
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/09/nyregion/family-rises-using-fraud-on-medicaid.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
North Carolina should weigh all options when it comes to Obamacare, particularly when it comes to waste and fraud.
Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/08/14/2268630/nc-isnt-set-on-medicaid-changes.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/27/tom-coburn/coburn-says-20-percent-every-medicare-dollar-goes-/
http://www.wral.com/news/local/wral_investigates/story/11129883/
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/09/nyregion/family-rises-using-fraud-on-medicaid.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
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