[A-List] Fedgov: Surprise! More graft exposed, day late, dollar short

["Anne Williamson" <annewilliamson@xxxxxxx>]

Government funding of health care insures these sorts of cost-multipliers
(graft) after first establishing
a skyrocketing of costs for basic services - ditto education, defense,
social security, and every other
human and social need in which the government intrudes on behalf of its
funders (donors).  In an
earlier discussion regarding the expansion of medicare, I maintained that
the bill was merely a device
to provide subsidies to Big Pharma along with a very large, and largely
defenseless population of
human lab rats, as is the $15B earmarked by the Bush Administration for AIDs
relief in Africa.  I believe
the medicare bill as passed proves my analysis.  But enough of an
anarchists' cry from the wilderness - I
am really posting this to bring to the A-List's attention the excellent
www.mercola.com site. -A.

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Insider Reveals Multimillion-Dollar Medicare Scam

Senate proceedings are expected to take place on the millions of Medicare
dollars spent on electric-powered wheelchairs that never existed. A key
figure in the con operation, Rebecca Lewandowski, admitted that she
participated in submitting charges of $25 million to Medicare for at least
100 wheelchairs per month that didn't exist.


Now committed to working for the government, Lewandowski plans to help
Medicare officials put the lid on future fraudulent claims.


Lewandowski explained that along with her brother, Mark Lewandowski, she
created this scam by opening phony health-care equipment stores, fabricating
medical records and the forging signatures of doctors and patients.


While some experts claimed Medicare was found asleep at the switch, others
stated that they were actively involved in this case from the very
beginning.


A report revealed that from 1999 to 2003, Medicare had dished out 1.2
billion for electric-powered wheelchairs and it wasn't until September 2003
that a full-scale investigation was conducted to look into improper
payments. Some officials said that Medicare surveillance issues needed to be
addressed, so problems such as these could be caught earlier.



ABC News April 27, 2004


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Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Here is more evidence that our federally subsidized program is in serious
need of repair. With cases of fraud like these, its no wonder the Medicare
program is having such financial difficulties.


The purpose of Mercola.com and the free newsletter is to help you "take
control of your own health." That means in all respects, including
dramatically reducing the reliance on the traditional healthcare model
centered on endless treatments and both the subsidized and private insurance
needed to pay for all the treatments (and fraud like that defined above).


Taking control of your own health means obtaining the knowledge and then
acting on that knowledge to prevent illness and fight the true underlying
causes of any disease you may have . to fortify and right your body and
immune system against the need for the treatment-based model in the first
place.


In every issue of the Mercola newsletter, I am committed to providing with
this knowledge, and every recommendation I make is toward the end of helping
you take control of your own health to avoid the dependency on the
dysfunctional conventional healthcare system.


As I don't make $25 million off of wheelchairs that never existed -- and in
fact don't accept any form of advertising or "influencing" funds from any
source -- your word-of-mouth is primarily how this newsletter grows.
Therefore, if people you care about do not yet receive my free health
e-newsletter, I hope you will strongly consider:


Clicking on the "Email to a Friend" link atop any Mercola.com article
Inputting the email address or addresses you want to send the article to
Adding your own comments on the email page that pops up (it already
automatically contains the link to the article you want recipients to read)
encouraging friends and family to sign up for free to help avoid the scams
and dysfunction of the current dominant healthcare paradigm
Related Articles:

Medicare Costs Exploding

Medicare Reform: What to Expect From the Expansion

More Medicare Spending Does Not Mean Better Care

Medicare Bill a Major Catastrophe for Future of This Country

Nearly $3 Trillion Dollars in U.S. Health Spending is Projected

American Medical Association's Secret Pact with the Federal Government


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