Several local residents have recently noticed an unexpected surprise on their Medicare statements. While, in some cases, no charge was relayed to the customers, a closer inspection of the statement reveals that Medicare may have paid a claim for a COVID test the person neither asked for or received. 

The bills show a claim for $120 filed for "Provision of COVID-19 test, nonprescription self-administered and self-collected use, FDA approved." The company making the claim is listed as being from a variety of locations on different bills. Some statements showed the company seeking payment as being from Illinois while others were reportedly from Florida or Texas. 

One local was given a statement which listed the billing company as Cipher Global LLC at 2336 Pagosa Springs Dr. Aurora, Ill. The company made a claim for a test supposedly taken by the woman's husband who had passed away 14 months before the date the company claimed it provided the service. In that case, Medicare denied payment, stating the date of death on file. In other cases, Medicare paid the claim.

A phone number for the company was given on the statement. The Southern Standard attempted to call, only to reach a voice mailbox which appeared to belong to a personal cell phone number, not a company. A check of the company on the Better Business Bureau website reveals a "F" rating with several reviews claiming the company fraudulently billed them for COVID tests that were not ordered. 

The Southern Standard reached out to Medicare for clarification. A Medicare representative stated they were aware of the matter  and encouraged all those affected to report the issue. "I would say if anybody sees something on their Medicare summary notice for items or services they did not receive or order, they should give us a call here at 1-800-Medicare (1-800-633-4227). We have the ability to look into their records and see if somebody billed Medicare for a COVID-19 test they didn't order and we can submit that for suspected fraud. We're here 24 hours a day, seven days a week." 

When the representative was asked if she had encountered this issue before, she replied, "Yes. I have seen it and I have escalated it and I encourage everybody to, anytime you see something like that, give us a call so we can escalate it as many times as we see it happening so we can get it addressed and fixed from the top down."

Additionally, the Standard contacted the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation which also encouraged those affected to call 1-800-Medicare.