Fred Schulte
CaliforniaHealthline
Washington, DC, United States
Contact Fred
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Past articles by Fred:
Nearly $50,000 a Week for a Cancer Drug? A Man Worries About Bankrupting His Family
When Medicare stops paying for a pricey drug that prolongs life, an Ohio man considers giving up treatment to spare his family enormous debt. → Read More
Your Money or Your Life: Patient on $50,000-a-Week Cancer Drug Fears Leaving Behind Huge Medical Debt
When Medicare stops paying for a pricey drug that prolongs life, an Ohio man considers giving up treatment to spare his family enormous debt. → Read More
Medicare Advantage plans overcharged government hundreds of millions, get to hang onto the money
The federal Medicare agency will require next to nothing from insurers for excess payments they got from 2011 to 2017 and won’t impose big penalties until audits for 2018 and beyond are conducted, which could be years. → Read More
Government Lets Health Plans That Ripped Off Medicare Keep the Money
In a surprise decision, U.S. officials yield to insurance industry demands — at least for now. → Read More
Did Your Health Plan Rip Off Medicare?
KHN has released never-before-seen details of federal audits as the government weighs action against dozens of Medicare Advantage plans. → Read More
How Medicare Advantage Plans Dodged Auditors and Overcharged Taxpayers by Millions
Facing rare scrutiny from federal auditors, some Medicare Advantage health plans failed to produce any records to justify their payments, government records show. The audits revealed millions of do… → Read More
How Medicare Advantage plans dodged auditors and overcharged taxpayers by millions
In April 2016, government auditors asked a Blue Cross Medicare Advantage health plan in Minnesota to turn over medical records of patients treated by a podiatry practice whose owner had been indicted for fraud. → Read More
Hidden audits reveal millions in overcharges by Medicare Advantage plans
Taxpayers footed the bill for care that should have cost far less, according to records released under the Freedom of Information Act. The U.S. government may charge insurers $650 million as a result. → Read More
Audits — Hidden Until Now — Reveal Millions in Medicare Advantage Overcharges
Taxpayers had to foot the bills for care that should have cost far less, according to records released after KHN filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. The government may seek to rec… → Read More
Sick Profit: Investigating Private Equity’s Stealthy Takeover of Health Care Across Cities and Specialties
Private equity firms have shelled out almost $1 trillion to acquire nearly 8,000 health care businesses, in deals almost always hidden from federal regulators. The result: higher prices, lawsuits, … → Read More
Lawsuit by KHN Prompts Government to Release Medicare Advantage Audits
The lawsuit was filed three years ago to learn about vast overcharges by the popular health plans that are detailed in audits the government refused to release to the public. → Read More
Government Watchdogs Attack Medicare Advantage for Denying Care and Overcharging
The Government Accountability Office and the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office say seniors enrolled in the program are suffering and taxpayers are getting bilked for billions of dollars a year. → Read More
Government Watchdogs Attack Medicare Advantage for Denying Care and Overcharging
The Government Accountability Office and the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office say seniors enrolled in the program are suffering and taxpayers are getting bilked for billions of … → Read More
AARP’s Billion-Dollar Bounty
With its latest venture into primary care clinics, is America’s leading organization for seniors selling its trusted seal of approval? → Read More
Federal Investigation Into Spine Surgeries Uses Mob Laws to Target Health Care Fraud
Investigators allege a Texas company that arranges spine surgery and other medical care for people injured in car crashes accepted bribes in violation of 1960s-era racketeering law. → Read More
Crash Course: Injured Patients Who Sign ‘Letters of Protection’ May Face Huge Medical Bills and Risks
The letters function as liens that “protect” spine surgery clinics while patients could be left with inflated medical bills and unexpected health risks. → Read More
Medicare Advantage's cost to taxpayers has soared in recent years, research finds
An alternative to original Medicare, the private plans are run mostly by major insurers. A recent analysis estimates Medicare overpaid these insurers by $106 billion from 2010 through 2019. → Read More
Researcher: Medicare Advantage Plans Costing Billions More Than They Should
Some insurers pocketed ‘eye-popping’ overpayments, billing records show. → Read More
Researcher: Medicare Advantage Plans Costing Billions More Than They Should
Some insurers pocketed ‘eye-popping’ overpayments, billing records show. → Read More
The DOJ Says A Data Mining Company Fabricated Medical Diagnoses To Make Money
In a civil suit filed this week, the Justice Department accuses a New York medical analytics company of helping a Medicare Advantage plan cheat taxpayers out of millions of dollars. → Read More