Tips to help fight health care fraud

Did you know that substantial fraud in the health care system drives up insurance premiums and other health care costs? In fact, research suggests that anywhere from $100-300 billion of the more than $2 trillion spent on health care each year is lost to fraud and abuse. In Medicare alone, Attorney General Eric Holder has suggested the program loses some $60 billion or more to fraud each year.

How does this affect you? First, it will cause your health insurance rates and your out-of-pocket costs to go up. Plus, scammers may be charging you for bogus health care without you even knowing it. And as taxpayers, the dollars you pay into Medicare and other public health care systems are stolen by con artists and frauds taking advantage of unsuspecting beneficiaries.

Some in Congress have begun suggesting that in order to pay down the Federal debt, programs like Medicare need to be cut. At AARP, we're fighting to stop Congress from making harmful cuts to Medicare and Social Security as part of a deal to pay the nation's bills. Our members have earned their benefits after a lifetime of hard work and paying into the system.

That being said, we can all help reduce the cost of health care by being vigilant against fraud and waste in our health care system. At AARP, we invite members and nonmembers alike to join in the effort to stop the con artists and thieves who abuse the health care system and take advantage of us all.

So, what can you do? Plenty.

Read Your Statementsand Bills Carefully

Ask your doctor, hospital or clinic questions if you don't understand charges on the bill. Sometimes mistakes happen. Be pleasant; it's O.K. to let them know you're concerned.

For Medicare beneficiaries, AARP has created a new online "decoder" for the quarterly Medicare Summary Statements, at www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-05-2011/your-medicare-summary-notice-and-you.html. It can help you understand the abbreviations so that you can determine all of the charges on your Medicare statement are correct.

Protect Your Personal Information

Do not provide personal information over the phone, email or website. If someone tries to get your health insurance information, or Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security numbers; be wary. Once scammers get this information they can easily use it for medical identity theft and fraud.

Guard Your Cards

Many of us have a tendency to keep everything in our wallets and purses. It's not a good idea. Do not carry your health insurance and other important ID cards all the time. Put them in your purse or wallet when you need to use them. Another option is to make a copy of your card and black out all the numbers but the last four.

There's No Free Lunch

Walk away if someone offers you free medical equipment or health services, groceries or gift cards and then asks for your insurance information. It's not worth the potential hassle.

Following these simple steps will go a long way to protecting you from health care fraud and help preserve the benefits of important programs like Medicare, TriCare and other public health systems.

For additional resources on how to report fraud as well as additional tips on how you can protect yourself and others from health care fraud, visit www.aarp.org/fightfraud.