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How to spot and stop health insurance scams Medical and health insurance scams are rampant. Both government and private initiatives have renewed their focus on preventing health insurance fraud and abuse. Michael Williams, director of communications and membership of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, says new and better technology, improved awareness, and more widely available information combine to combat fraud. Williams adds that while the majority of physicians run honest practices, consumers must also step up to the plate to prevent fraud. "Pay attention, do your research, read your EOBs (explanations of benefits) and beware of free offers," he says. Read on to discover some of the most common health insurance scams making the rounds and ways experts like Williams say you can guard against becoming another victim. Fake insurance policies Like counterfeit money, bogus health insurance is not only circulating, but it's becoming increasingly common. James Quiggle, communications director of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, says fake policies are particularly virulent. "These crooks come out of the woodwork and promise affordable premiums, no medical exams and guaranteed acceptance," Quiggle says, adding that the criminals who offer worthless policies often operate through sophisticated networks with strong marketing arms and money-laundering components. Many times they can be tied to organized crime. Often, these con artists target small businesses, unions and associations. It's only when a policyholder needs the insurance that the game's up.

Westhill Consulting Insurance - How to Avoid Health Care Fraud Mail-order medications Patients who buy drugs through mail-order companies could be rolling the dice with their health says Dr. Deborah C. Peel, a physician and founder of the nonprofit Patient Privacy Rights. There's a high probability in many cases that these drugs are counterfeit Peel added. "And you don't ever know because the fraudulent tablets look just like the real ones," says Peel. She says ordering from companies that specialize in mail-order sales that are not affiliated with a legitimate insurance company, especially from foreign countries, can be very risky. Not only could the quality be questionable, it could also be illegal. "But people are desperate because we're being so grossly overcharged for medication," she says. Peel says you can lessen costs by buying generic. You can spot it by: the best thing to do is to keep away from buying drugs from foreign or obscure pharmacies. And if you decide to go with the mail-order route, just stay with U.S.-based companies because if it's a U.S. company, you can report the health care fraud to the Food and Drug Administration while if it's a foreign company, there's little that can or will be done. False product claims According to the Federal Trade Commission, millions fall victim each year to false miracle cures. Especially vulnerable are victims of debilitating and potentially deadly illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV and AIDS. The FTC website says scammers take advantage of people with a grim diagnosis such as cancer and "promote unproven - and potentially dangerous - substances like black salve, essiac tea, or laetrile with claims that the products are both 'natural' and effective." But, say physicians and other experts, simply because something is advertised as "natural" doesn't mean it works. And while a patient is experimenting with bogus treatments, he or she can squander the opportu

Thom Tillis is stuck at the state capitol trying to resolve a budget quarrel as speaker of the North Carolina House. It's a spot that helps Hagan emphasize Tillis' role leading a Republican-controlled state government that Democrats contend has gone overboard with conservative zeal by restricting access to abortion and the voting booth while cutting corporate taxes and slashing spending on schools. (Hagan, the daughter of Joe P. Ruthven, grew up in Lakeland.) If Tillis is worried by Hagan's portrayal, he doesn't show it. Drinking coffee last week from a hand-grenade-shaped mug in his no-frills legislative office, he's got his own message in his campaign to take Hagan's Senate seat. "Obamacare," he said, "continues to be a big problem." Similar themes are playing out in other crucial Senate races, as voters have four months to decide which party will control the chamber in the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency. For Republicans, it's all about tying Democrats to Obama - especially to a health care law that remains unpopular with many Americans. And for Democrats, the election is about just about anything else, especially if they can steer attention away from Washington and federal matters. It's a political strategy that sometimes gives the campaigns an inside-out feel, with veteran senators running as if they were first-timers without a Washington resume to defend or tout.