Worried about being victimized by a catheter scheme involving Medicare? You're not alone.

Last week’s column about an alleged Medicare fraud scheme brought a flood of emails from seniors.

I am sharing some of those notes to encourage victims to report problems by an alleged ring to the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.

I disclosed in my column that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois paid $2,232 , and Medicare paid $8,749.44 for catheters I did not order or need. The items listed on the bill were monthly, beginning in June 2023 and ending in November that year.

Like me, thousands of Medicare recipients were billed for catheters they did not need, according to news reports.

More than 450,000 Medicare beneficiaries’ accounts were billed for urinary catheters in 2023, up from 50,000 in previous years, according to the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations, news outlets reported.

Health care officials saidthey believe a ring racked up $2 billion in ill-gotten gain, according to news reports.

The alleged scheme is being investigated in New York, Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee and Florida.

The issue has reached Washington, D.C. Members of both parties have commented about the controversy.

“Medicare is a lifeline for millions of older Americans, and fraudulent schemes targeting the program and its recipients cannot be tolerated, " said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who chairs the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging, the Washington Post reported.

On March 6, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Office of the Inspector General issued an alert about possible fraud involving urinary catheters, reminding Medicare recipients to:

• Be suspicious of anyone who offers you free medical equipment and then requests your Medicare number. Once the scammers obtain the enrollee’s personal information, monthly billing to Medicare will begin for medically unnecessary urinary catheters that may or may not actually be sent to the enrollee.
  
• Medicare recipients should also be cautious of unsolicited offers of free medical equipment.
  
• Most importantly, review any explanation of benefits documents you receive. Scan for any items you did not order.
  
• If you suspect Medicare fraud, report if immediately. Call the HHS-OIG hotline at 1-800-447-8477.
  

Many of the people I heard from had no idea how someone could order unwanted medical supplies in their name.

What readers are saying

“I was also a victim of the same fraud you reported, June, July and August 2023. The same medical group billed Medicare and my Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance $8,500.00. ... I called Medicare and filed a fraud complaint. They told me they would investigate, but it could take up to two years for any resolution. She told me my Medicare ID had been hacked and I should get a new ID number.” J.V.

Thank you, J.V.
That was more help than I received when I reported the fraud. But thanks to your email, I called Medicare back and requested a new card. I was told it would take approximately two weeks. We’ll see.

This reader doesn’t look at his explanation of benefits often enough.

“Like you, I recently found a Medicare claim for 10 months of catheters at $1,900 per month. When I googled the supplier, I found it was a known fraud. ... I try to look at those Explanation of Benefits, but sometimes time gets away.” H.L.

Dear H.L.
Now that we know better, we’ll do better, right?

And this person has witnessed multiple instances of this fraud, which shows how widespread this scam is.

“I, my friend, her husband and her neighbor were also scammed for catheters through Medicare and BCBS from last year from various different companies You’re right, Medicare did not react like I thought. I got a new Medicare number. ... There were other agencies I had to call to report. A mess.” J.B.

Thanks, J.B.

I don’t know how alleged scammers are able to stay a couple of steps ahead of us. It seems like every time we learn how to avoid a scheme, another scam seems to pop up. But while we are challenged, we are not hopeless. These are hard-earned benefits that we worked for and are entitled to. Reporting suspected fraud is one way of fighting back.