Frequently asked questions

Fraud is being dishonest on purpose to gain something of value or to get an unfair advantage.¹

Waste is using more services than you need or practices that, directly or indirectly, result in unnecessary costs to the health care system. It is not generally caused by criminal actions, but by overusing resources.²

Abuse is an action that may result in unnecessary costs to the health care system. It’s when a person or entity has not knowingly or purposely misrepresented facts but receives a payment that they have no legal reason to get.³

Fraud and abuse affects all of us in many ways. The United States spends over $2.27 trillion on health care every year. Of that amount, the National Healthcare Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) estimates that tens of billions of dollars are lost to health care fraud and abuse. This loss directly impacts patients, taxpayers and the government through higher health care costs, insurance premiums and taxes.

Fraud and abuse can have a personal cost too. It can cause mistrust between doctors, patients and health care insurers. That’s because in many cases, fraud and abuse involve harmful actions, like getting prescriptions for the wrong medications, receiving improper medical services and being misguided by needless tests and diagnoses.

Health care fraud and abuse happen in many places and situations. Some examples can be provider, pharmacy, member or patient fraud and abuse. 

It’s important to be aware of suspicious situations and be ready to report concerns. Take a look at the different types of fraud and abuse explained in the next section so you’ll have a better idea if a situation should be reported.

Here are some examples to help you know what is considered fraud and abuse.

Provider

Examples of potential provider fraud and abuse include:

• Submitting bills or claims for treatment or services that were never provided
• Claiming a false date of service to correspond with a member’s coverage period
• Billing for non-covered services using incorrect codes to attempt to have services covered

Pharmacy

Examples of potential pharmacy fraud and abuse include:

• Incorrect pharmacy billing
  • Bills for medication that was never dispensed
  • Bills for brand name drugs, but dispensed generic drugs
• Prescription drug shorting
  • Less than the prescribed quantity is intentionally provided and the patient is not informed
• Prescription forging or altering – done without the prescriber’s permission to increase the quantity of tablets or number of refills

Member or patient

Examples of potential member or patient fraud and abuse include:

• Submitting false claims
• Prescription stockpiling and unlawful sales of excessive services and goods for resale
• Concealing information about additional coverage in order to lower out-of-pocket payments, or receiving inappropriate reimbursement from multiple plans
• Identity theft
• Doctor shopping
• Multiple providers are seen in an attempt to obtain multiple prescriptions. Usually includes deception and can be driven by addiction, drug diversion for profit or both.

Yes.  There are two ways to submit a report without identifying yourself.

1. Contact the UnitedHealthcare Fraud Hotline number at 1-844-359-7736 and say that you would like to make an anonymous report
2. Complete an online form

When you report health care fraud or abuse, any information you provide about yourself will stay confidential.  That means that even if you give your name in the report, the health care provider(s) would not know that you reported them. However, you may also enter your complaint anonymously.  

Anyone can report health care fraud or abuse through this UnitedHealthcare site. You do not have to be a UnitedHealthcare member or provider. 

There are a few ways to make a report – online or by making a phone call.

1. Report a concern using this online form
2. Call the fraud and abuse hotline at 1-844-359-7736

For help with your health plan, you can call the the number on the back of your ID card or contact the Member Services Call Center at 1-866-633-2446.

You can get help with questions about your health plan, including explaining bills, claims and coverage, helping you find network providers, like doctors, clinics or hospitals, or other questions and concerns.