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Wheelchair fraud on the rise

07:44 PM CDT on Saturday, June 16, 2007

By DAVID SCHECHTER / WFAA-TV


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David Schechter reports
They're supposed to improve the lives of handicapped people.

Too often they're lining the pockets of rip-off artists.

The sale of expensive, electric wheelchairs and scooters, paid for with your tax dollars, has exploded and so has fraud.

Most days, you'll find Chauncey Calloway at a gas station at 635 and Webb Chappel.

He doesn't work here, but his doctor's office is close by and he likes the people.

Chauncey lost part of a leg to diabetes and used to get around in a $16,000 motorized wheelchair, paid for by the government.

Last month, Medicaid authorized a $2,000 repair at Medical Mobility of Texas.

When Chauncey went to pick his chair up, he says, the company insisted he sign a document promising to take better care of his chair or else crawl home.

"He taking advantage of me. My situation. I'm forced to sign or else crawl. Simple as that. Sign or crawl," he said.

Chauncey signed.

Four days later his chair died.

Now he pushes himself in a borrowed chair.

"I'm so tired. It just drains me that I have to work with this thing."

On the phone, Medical Mobility told us Chauncey is a challenging customer, who abuses his chair.

They say the government requires people who abuse equipment to sign a letter promising to stop.

But we checked and there is no such requirement.

"I can't talk to you about exactly that because its HPPA violation," said Jan Clark of Medical Mobility.

So is there a letter customers have to sign?

"We have to follow instructions from whatever agency or person or insurance company is paying the bill," said Clark.

So that's not one of their rules?

"I can't talk to you about a specific case unless I have a release of information," Clark added.

Chauncey is one of thousand of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who say they've been mistreated, manipulated, or downright swindled.

Medicare says taxpayers pick up the tab on $2.1 billion in fraudulent billing last year.

Power wheelchairs and scooters make up a big part of that.

"Ten years ago you could barely find a provider that dealt in power wheelchairs," said Carmen Narganes from Medicare/Medicaid.

Medicare says companies sprung up after figuring out the government would pay for chairs for people who didn't really need them.

Many use forged documents, and high-pressure sales techniques.

"For me, especially, it's very difficult to look at an individual in a scooter and not wonder if this person truly needs this piece of equipment," said Narganes.

Recently, a major Medicare bust in Florida showed $2 million in billings for a single chair.

And in 2005, 355 dealers in Harris County were barred from doing business with the government.

Federal officials hope Dallas can show the nation how to turn the problem around.

Next year, a new pilot program will accredits dealers and, it's hoped, squeeze out the bad operators.

"Medicare is dealing with good, upstanding suppliers. If it does take out some suppliers who've had troubles in the past, or do not supply good service, unfortunately it's business and it's competition," said Narganes.

As for Chauncey, he's not sure if, or when, he'll be back in a working chair.

He's afraid to go back to Medical Mobility and, so far, he can't find another company to fix his old chair.

Federal officials say taxpayers are not the only victims, here.

When a beneficiary gets equipment he or she doesn't need, later on, when they do need something, it's much harder to get it.