The Nebraska Department of Insurance is warning consumers after the Nebraska State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) is reporting an uptick in potential fraudulent billing for Nebraskans with Medicare. In the past few weeks, NDOI has seen an increase in potential fraudulent billing especially in the western part of the state. Most of the reports found by the department deals with Durable Medicare Equipment (DME) fraud including wound care, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), prosthetics, and braces for back, knees, and elbows. Medicare beneficiaries are being charged by these fraudulent companies without showing the medical necessity and sometimes never sending the equipment to the beneficiary. The billing for the fraudulent charges is being found through the examination of the Medicare Summary Notice. Some of these DME entities are potentially located out of state, with one identified in Florida.
