Despite the relatively low reimbursement rates for each catheter - Medicare pays out about $8 per curved tip and sterile kit catheter - ample profits can be made when the products are ordered in bulk. The spike in urinary catheter claims began weeks later, turning into a flood of bills in 2023. Six of the seven companies had critical reviews on Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, Facebook or other sites complaining of Medicare fraud involving catheters. And in 2023, the seven companies billed Medicare about $1.9 billion for catheters for nearly 406,000 patients, according to NAACOS. Corrigan, the Medicare fraud chief, stressed that the lack of public action on any allegation was not necessarily representative of federal efforts.

Source: Washington Post February 10, 2024 16:49 UTC