Many people in Florida do not have the money to cover health care costs for medicine or nursing home care. They have to rely on Medicaid as a provider. If you are one of the many users of this program, you do not want law enforcement to suspect you of abusing or defrauding Medicaid.
Since there are many ways people commit Medicaid fraud, it may help to understand how to refrain from actions that could cast suspicion on you. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provides some background on ways you can avoid the appearance of abusing the system.
Using inaccurate information to qualify
Medicaid requires you to have income below a certain threshold in order to qualify for the program. Some fraudsters misrepresent how much they make so that Medicaid will see them as eligible. Scammers may also steal the identity of someone who does qualify for the program. Making sure your information is factual and accurate can help establish that you legitimately need Medicaid services.
Sharing Medicaid identification
If you qualify for Medicaid, you must not use your information to help an ineligible person acquire Medicaid services. Some people share their Medicaid identification card with a friend or family member, allowing them to use the card to obtain Medicaid coverage. Even if you feel you are doing someone a favor, you do not want to risk committing an illegal act by doing so.
Illegally accumulating drugs
Some people abuse the Medicaid program to acquire prescription medication. Make sure that you do not change the prescription your doctor gives you. Additionally, do not visit more than one doctor to acquire more amounts of your prescribed medicine. The law refers to this as doctor shopping. Selling off your drugs to others is another action to avoid so that you do not draw unwarranted suspicion from the law.