Optimal Health of Southern Oregon's HIPAA violation that they fail to acknowledge
Medical records sent for the wrong patient by the clinic. When notified of their mistake, Optimal Health refuses to respond.
This was the title of the Public Forum letter published in the News Review on May 5, 2019 and attributed to Mike Berns of Brookings.
Mr. Berns described that as a veteran he has service-connected health issues that are treated by the VA. But despite being “covered” benefits, the VA went on to bill his secondary private insurance company for the same services they are supposed to cover.
The VA is doing what a lot of medical clinics do across the country. They bill any insurance company they can for services given, regardless of whether or not they were already paid by another insurance company, etc.
It’s all about getting as much money as they can get, whether legally or not. They feel it’s not their fault if the insurance company screws up and pays them or, even better, pays them more than they are entitled to.
Insurance companies make so much money that they EXPECT to see a lot of fraud. They KNOW it and don’t even bother to investigate most cases. It’s a pathetic state of affairs in this country: GREED rules over good healthcare.
