Surety Bond
Wil Haines
Description
Collection
Title:
Surety Bond
Creator:
Wil Haines
Date:
1/23/2009
Text:
Hello Colleagues and Guests,
The surety bond issue still sounds like a real bad deal to me, not to
mention serious complications, including parity issues, still at large
in this matter. So far, it appears that Medicare will have a method to
recoup any outstanding refunds (beyond what they already do) up to the
limit of the bond and insurance companies will now have a new revenue
stream from O&P. But through all of this, it still appears that this
bond is very similar to a jail bail bond (haven't had to use one
yet...knock on wood) and the bond is by no means an insurance policy. It
is only a temporary get out of jail bond. At the end of the day, O&P
providers will still owe any monies that are collected through this
process. So, this will just be one more example of a government solution
for problems that should largely never existed in the first place. How
in the world can a Medicare supplier collect $5,000,000.00 for a single
electric wheel chair? Mercy. It seems to me that, for all practical
purposes, the shoe ought to be on the other foot. At a minimum, Medicare
should have started by separating DME from O&P. It does not take a very
bright light to see that problem.
Will private insurers require a similar bond in the future? Interesting
thought.
Wil Haines, CPO
The surety bond issue still sounds like a real bad deal to me, not to
mention serious complications, including parity issues, still at large
in this matter. So far, it appears that Medicare will have a method to
recoup any outstanding refunds (beyond what they already do) up to the
limit of the bond and insurance companies will now have a new revenue
stream from O&P. But through all of this, it still appears that this
bond is very similar to a jail bail bond (haven't had to use one
yet...knock on wood) and the bond is by no means an insurance policy. It
is only a temporary get out of jail bond. At the end of the day, O&P
providers will still owe any monies that are collected through this
process. So, this will just be one more example of a government solution
for problems that should largely never existed in the first place. How
in the world can a Medicare supplier collect $5,000,000.00 for a single
electric wheel chair? Mercy. It seems to me that, for all practical
purposes, the shoe ought to be on the other foot. At a minimum, Medicare
should have started by separating DME from O&P. It does not take a very
bright light to see that problem.
Will private insurers require a similar bond in the future? Interesting
thought.
Wil Haines, CPO
Citation
Wil Haines, “Surety Bond,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/230008.
