The man arrived at the emergency department of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center so dangerously short of breath that medical care was the first priority. Questions about insurance coverage had to wait.
As he was stabilized and transferred to an inpatient bed, the man gave hospital personnel his name, date of birth, Social Security number and other personal details so a file could be created. Records showed the man had been treated there before and was covered by insurance.
Or so it seemed.
Three days later, the man--who was actually posing as his brother--was discharged. The fraud came to light after the real subscriber received a statement--referring to a hospital tab for $10,000--from his carrier and challenged it.
Mention health care fraud--a $100-billion-a-year problem in the United States--and most people think of doctors or hospital officials inflating charges or billing for services never performed.
Provider fraud is still the most prevalent type in the health care arena, but it has been on the decline.
Meanwhile, consumer health care fraud is on the rise.
In 1995, 20% of reported health care fraud cases in the United States were blamed on consumers, according to a study released in June by the Health Insurance Assn. of America, a trade group based in Washington, D.C. In 1993, just 7% of reported health care fraud cases involved consumers.
In the same time period, provider fraud declined from 92% of reported cases to 78%.
In 1995, health insurers investigated 5,024 cases of consumer fraud, compared to 1,151 cases in 1993, according to Thomas D. Musco of the HIAA, co-author of the study, "Health Insurers' Anti-Fraud Programs."
Some of those cases involved what the HIAA calls "false records of employment and eligibility," in which consumers borrow cards or obtain insurance information from a covered member and use it as their own, or use a card from an expired plan. Other cases involved falsifying claims and misrepresenting information on applications.
To stem consumer health care fraud, insurance companies and hospitals are stepping up anti-fraud programs. For insurance companies, the effort often involves paying closer attention to claims and record-keeping.
For hospitals, it means focusing more on identification--being sure the person who has arrived for services is indeed the same person named on the insurance card by asking for additional forms of ID, preferably including a photo, and other requests. Going even further, one Indiana hospital relies on a fingerprinting system.
