"It certainly is the fastest growing scam in Medicare," said Dara Corrigan, acting inspector general in the Department of Health and Human Services.
The medical equipment industry has aggressively marketed its electric wheelchairs, particularly in television ads targeting senior citizens. The number of Medicare beneficiaries with at least one claim for a motorized wheelchair rose from about 55,000 in 1999 to 168,245 in the first nine months of this year.
"If there is fraud, that hurts the good guys because it puts a black eye on everyone," said Steve Azia, a lawyer for Power Mobility Coalition, an industry group.
Medicare's crackdown has recovered $52.5 million so far.
Investigators say the cases include:
-Equipment company suppliers who submit phony claims.
-Doctors who take kickbacks for writing prescriptions.
-People who roam shopping malls offering free medical equipment to anyone who'll sign up for a wheelchair.
-Conspirators who stage fake deliveries, complete with pictures of patients who pose with chairs for a fee.
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