topic Re: Wasteful Spending in Community Chat

Wasteful Spending

Mistreatedbycs — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 18:56:28 GMT

Just want to vent right now.....

So my mom has been gone for almost 2 years already and Medicare Summary notices are still being mailed out. I've sold the house, put through a change for address for all mail so it came to my house.

I just called Medicare to get any future mailings forwarded to my address directly but was told "I need to go through the SS office". So I call SS and guess what, 55 min wait and no thank you.

So in the Medicare policy, even if the person is deceased, the mailings all must go to the address on file and if I need to put through a new address I must contact SS.

So do I tell SS my mom went to heaven and everything needs to go there? Oh my, more dollars wasted.

Re: Wasteful Spending

hckynut — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 19:04:01 GMT

Saw on news last night that, i think it was NY, Medicaid payments of $2,300,000.00 was sent to dead people. Hello there, waste!

Re: Wasteful Spending

sweetee2 — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 19:15:06 GMT

When my dad passed we put in a change of address and everything automatically came to us. I didn't have to notify anyone.

Re: Wasteful Spending

Mz iMac — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 19:23:42 GMT

Question: How do I report the death of a Medicare beneficiary?

Answer: You can call the Social Security Administration to report the death of a Medicare beneficiary at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

As noted on the Social Security Administration site:

"You cannot report a death or apply for survivors benefits online. Social Security should be notified as soon as possible when a person dies. In most cases, the funeral home will report the person’s death to Social Security. You should give the funeral home the deceased person’s Social Security number if you want them to make the report."

If a family member or other person responsible for the beneficiary's affairs wishes to notify the Social Security Administration (SSA), they should do the following:

Promptly notify Social Security of the beneficiary's death by calling SSA toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) (between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM Monday through Friday).
Or the family representative can contact a local Social Security Administration office. Local SSA offices can be found using the link: https://www.ssa.gov/locator/

If monthly benefits were being paid via direct deposit, notify the bank or other financial institution of the beneficiary's death. Request that any funds received for the month of death and later be returned to Social Security as soon as possible.
If benefits were being paid by check, DO NOT CASH any checks received for the month in which the beneficiary died or thereafter. Return the checks to Social Security as soon as possible

One-time Lump Sum Death Benefit

A one-time payment of $255 is payable to the surviving spouse if he or she was living with the beneficiary at the time of death, OR if living apart, was eligible for Social Security benefits on the beneficiary's earnings record for the month of death (please see: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-8.html and https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou7.html).

If there is no surviving spouse, the payment is made to a child who was eligible for benefits on the beneficiary's earnings record in the month of death.

Benefits for Survivors

Monthly survivors benefits can be paid to certain family members, including the beneficiary's widow or widower, dependent children and dependent parents.

The following contain more information about filing for benefits.

Survivor Benefits: (Publication No. 05-10084) http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10084.html (see also the Social Security Administration page at: https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/howtoapply.html).
Social Security: Understanding the Benefits: (Publication No. 05-10024)

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10024.html

(Source: Social Security Online www.ssa.gov)

As reference, please also see:
https://www.ssa.gov/survivors/

Re: Wasteful Spending

chrystaltree — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 19:24:56 GMT

@sweetee2 wrote:
When my dad passed we put in a change of address and everything automatically came to us. I didn't have to notify anyone.

Yes, it was the same when my mom passed away. I actually went into the SSA and I did the change of address and everything came to my house. If I had chosen to do it by phone, I pretty sure I wouldn't have minded being on hold for a while. Whenever you call any big business, you are going to spend time on hold listening to elevator music.

Re: Wasteful Spending

Kachina624 — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 19:30:49 GMT

Why are you still getting notices from SSA two years after your mom's death? I didn't get anything for my dad that far out.

Re: Wasteful Spending

Mistreatedbycs — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 20:11:59 GMT

They are Medicare Summary notices, these are notices that a patient receives notifying that someone has submitted a request for payment either a hospital, physical therapy etc.

Social Security was notified of the death, Medicare will not change any address unless SS puts it through.....and if you are gone where does it go????

Re: Wasteful Spending

Mz iMac — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 20:29:56 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs wrote:
They are Medicare Summary notices, these are notices that a patient receives notifying that someone has submitted a request for payment either a hospital, physical therapy etc.
You should not be receiving anything from Medicare 2 yrs after the passing of your mother.
Are these summeries EOB's?

Social Security was notified of the death, Medicare will not change any address unless SS puts it through.....and if you are gone where does it go????
Right back to Medicare.

Do not open anything more from Medicare if addressed and/or pertains to your mother. Write across the envelope "Deceased" & put the envelope right back into the mailbox.

Because SS has not "put it through" is not your problem. It appears from what you have stated so far in your postings, that you have done all that you were suppose to do.

Re: Wasteful Spending

Mistreatedbycs — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 02:47:56 GMT

No, they are notifications of payment for a doctor while she was hospitalized and just being processed in the last month.

Thank you for the information, I will do just that, send it back to Medicare in the same envelope.

Re: Wasteful Spending

itiswhatitis — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 03:14:27 GMT

@hckynut wrote:

Saw on news last night that, i think it was NY, Medicaid payments of $2,300,000.00 was sent to dead people. Hello there, waste!

Don't know how Medicaid would send money to dead people, since Medicaid does not reimburse anyone for expenses. Did they send out this money to dead physicians and other healthcare practitioners? Do you mean Medicare?

Re: Wasteful Spending

pitdakota — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 03:47:05 GMT

@itiswhatitis wrote:
@hckynut wrote:

Saw on news last night that, i think it was NY, Medicaid payments of $2,300,000.00 was sent to dead people. Hello there, waste!
Don't know how Medicaid would send money to dead people, since Medicaid does not reimburse anyone for expenses. Did they send out this money to dead physicians and other healthcare practitioners? Do you mean Medicare?

_____________________________________________________

You are exactly right @itiswhatitis. This was Medicare and probably what @hckynut meant. Medicare fraud has long been a problem. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force sure stays busy and thanks to the funds from the Affordable Healthcare Act, they are catching more of it these days. This past June they filed charges against over 300 individuals (including a large number of healthcare providers). I think it was around $900 million dollars in false billing.

BTW, the funeral home notified Social Security & submitted the change of address for us when my mother died. They notified SS when Dad died but we didn't change the address then since my mother was still alive at that time.

Re: Wasteful Spending

itiswhatitis — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 03:48:42 GMT

@pitdakota wrote:
@itiswhatitis wrote:
@hckynut wrote:

Saw on news last night that, i think it was NY, Medicaid payments of $2,300,000.00 was sent to dead people. Hello there, waste!
Don't know how Medicaid would send money to dead people, since Medicaid does not reimburse anyone for expenses. Did they send out this money to dead physicians and other healthcare practitioners? Do you mean Medicare?
_____________________________________________________

You are exactly right @itiswhatitis. This was Medicare and probably what @hckynut meant. Medicare fraud has long been a problem. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force sure stays busy and thanks to the funds from the Affordable Healthcare Act, they are catching more of it these days. This past June they filed charges against over 300 individuals (including a large number of healthcare providers). I think it was around $900 million dollars in false billing.

BTW, the funeral home notified Social Security & submitted the change of address for us when my mother died. They notified SS when Dad died but we didn't change the address then since my mother was still alive at that time.

Now, it makes sense. I kind of thought that was what the op meant, but I wasn't sure.

Re: Wasteful Spending

hckynut — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 15:01:33 GMT

pitdakota wrote:

itiswhatitis wrote:

hckynut wrote:

Saw on news last night that, i think it was NY, Medicaid payments of $2,300,000.00 was sent to dead people. Hello there, waste!

_____________________________________________________

Just saying what i saw on the news. I have never dealt with Medicaid and know nothing about how it works. All i know is it can vary by states.

ETA:. Just checked and it was NY Daily News, and it did say Medicaid.

Re: Wasteful Spending

itiswhatitis — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 21:41:16 GMT

@hckynut wrote:
@pitdakota wrote:
@itiswhatitis wrote:
@hckynut wrote:

Saw on news last night that, i think it was NY, Medicaid payments of $2,300,000.00 was sent to dead people. Hello there, waste!
Don't know how Medicaid would send money to dead people, since Medicaid does not reimburse anyone for expenses. Did they send out this money to dead physicians and other healthcare practitioners? Do you mean Medicare?
_____________________________________________________

You are exactly right @itiswhatitis. This was Medicare and probably what @hckynut meant. Medicare fraud has long been a problem. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force sure stays busy and thanks to the funds from the Affordable Healthcare Act, they are catching more of it these days. This past June they filed charges against over 300 individuals (including a large number of healthcare providers). I think it was around $900 million dollars in false billing.

BTW, the funeral home notified Social Security & submitted the change of address for us when my mother died. They notified SS when Dad died but we didn't change the address then since my mother was still alive at that time.

Just saying what i saw on the news. I have never dealt with Medicaid and know nothing about how it works. All i know is it can vary by states.

ETA:. Just checked and it was NY Daily News, and it did say Medicaid.

Well, then those payments must have been going to phony doctors. Medicaid doesn't send people money. Not in NYS. Not anywhere. It supports people in the way of physician payment for medical services rendered.

Re: Wasteful Spending

itiswhatitis — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 21:51:50 GMT

@hckynut wrote:
@pitdakota wrote:
@itiswhatitis wrote:
@hckynut wrote:

Saw on news last night that, i think it was NY, Medicaid payments of $2,300,000.00 was sent to dead people. Hello there, waste!
Don't know how Medicaid would send money to dead people, since Medicaid does not reimburse anyone for expenses. Did they send out this money to dead physicians and other healthcare practitioners? Do you mean Medicare?
_____________________________________________________

You are exactly right @itiswhatitis. This was Medicare and probably what @hckynut meant. Medicare fraud has long been a problem. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force sure stays busy and thanks to the funds from the Affordable Healthcare Act, they are catching more of it these days. This past June they filed charges against over 300 individuals (including a large number of healthcare providers). I think it was around $900 million dollars in false billing.

BTW, the funeral home notified Social Security & submitted the change of address for us when my mother died. They notified SS when Dad died but we didn't change the address then since my mother was still alive at that time.

Just saying what i saw on the news. I have never dealt with Medicaid and know nothing about how it works. All i know is it can vary by states.

ETA:. Just checked and it was NY Daily News, and it did say Medicaid.

I just read it and it's like I originally thought. Crooked health care practitioners who continued to bill for the deceased.

inappropriate payments included more than $7.1 million paid to long-term care providers for patients who had already been deemed ineligible for Medicaid and removed from the program. This is a mistake made by them and not the taxpayers.

Another $1 million came from overpayments for patients who had other health insurance coverage. This could be fraud on the part of the other insured and mistakes made by the City's Health Department.

Auditors also found that 31 health care providers in the Medicaid system had been charged with or had already been convicted of crimes that should have terminated their involvement. This is not fraud based on anything the recipients did.

All in all it is wasteful spending.

Re: Wasteful Spending

hckynut — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 23:46:25 GMT

@itiswhatitis

Well! Where in my posts did i say i knew where this money was going, eh? I posted what i heard on the news/checked online and gave you the source i read/I also told you I know nothing about how it works.

What you know is obviously more than i do, and that is fine with me.

Re: Wasteful Spending

hfpint — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 23:52:31 GMT

When my grandfather passed away, he kept receiving phone calls at my house for him - he never talked on the phone because he was hard of hearing and people also had trouble understanding him when he talked. When I said that he wasn't living in the house anymore but phone calls kept coming (solicitors who wouldn't take no for answer and also that we were on the do not call list) so I gave them the number of the cemetary he is buried in and told them to ask for plot xxxx. Needless to say, I didn't get calls back.

Re: Wasteful Spending

itiswhatitis — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 01:59:00 GMT

@hckynut wrote:
@itiswhatitis

Well! Where in my posts did i say i knew where this money was going, eh? I posted what i heard on the news/checked online and gave you the source i read/I also told you I know nothing about how it works.

What you know is obviously more than i do, and that is fine with me.

@hckynut,eh what? I originally stated that the money was going to individuals. After you confirmed the news source, and I read it ~ it tied back to my original post. In other words, I backed up what I said in the first place.

Re: Wasteful Spending

itiswhatitis — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 02:01:03 GMT

@hfpint wrote:
When my grandfather passed away, he kept receiving phone calls at my house for him - he never talked on the phone because he was hard of hearing and people also had trouble understanding him when he talked. When I said that he wasn't living in the house anymore but phone calls kept coming (solicitors who wouldn't take no for answer and also that we were on the do not call list) so I gave them the number of the cemetary he is buried in and told them to ask for plot xxxx. Needless to say, I didn't get calls back.

Not sure how this relates to wasteful spending (except maybe the cost to the fraudsters) calling your grandfather.

There is an opt out for mailings and a Do Not Call Registry but sometimes calls still get through.