To the editor:

Thank you for bringing health care fraud to our attention with the Nov. 12 front page “Wheelchair scam” story by the Associated Press. Fraud and abuse are growing concerns in all areas of health care.

As a medical equipment supplier and immediate past chairman of the American Association for Homecare, I would like to set the record straight. “Operation Wheeler Dealer” is focused on catching con artists posing as equipment suppliers, not members of the homecare industry with long-term commitments to the patients and the communities they serve. Like physicians, pharmacists and nurses, medical equipment suppliers have dedicated their lives and education to serving patients in need of care. Homecare is widely recognized as cost effective, clinically effective and a patient-preferred setting for recovery.

Getting something for nothing is a scam! Whether it’s a meal, a cruise or a wheelchair, “If it is too good to be true, it is too good to be true.” Those brave Medicare beneficiaries that stepped forward to testify against those crooks should be applauded for saving our taxpayer dollars and protecting Medicare for those who need it. We are fortunate in Kansas that our consumers and providers do not treat their health insurance card as a medical charge account with no responsibility to pay for services.

Steven J. Knoll,

Topeka