PHYSICIAN BILLLING AND THE COOK COUNTY PROBATE COURT

Editor’s note: This Shark believes that there is a special place in Hell for the radiologist who charged his 99 year old disabled mother-in-law 6 times for the same X-ray. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com


PHYSICIAN BILLLING AND THE COOK COUNTY PROBATE COURT

Many court cases in the Cook County Probate Court include the use of physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists. These physicians are utilized to declare people incompetent and in need of a guardian. These physicians are also utilized to declare people in need of nursing services, Hospice, etc.

At times, attorneys are the ones who recruit these physicians into the guardianship case. These attorneys then submit a Request for Attorney's Fee's into court, to get their attornyes fees approved by the judge to be paid from the estate.

What is interesting is that the attorneys often include these physician's fees for examing the ward in the attorney's bill (this may or may not occur as a line item). The judge then approves the attorney's fees be paid from the estate; the attorney then cashes his/her check from the estate, and then the attorney turns around and give the physician his/her money for their fees.

One cannot help but ask this question:

How many physicians are billing Medicare for this same service?


One cannot help but also ask this question:

How many case managers, nursing rehabilition companies, and guardianship companies bill for some of their services in the same way?

Report suspected Medicare fraud to the Office of the Inspector General/Health & Human Services (OIG/HHS).


SIgned,
Your ProbateSharks Whistle-Blowin' Team