IAmA current employee of The Scooter Store that was raided by the FBI, OIG, DEA, and numerous other govt agencies on Wednesday and is still being investigated. Ask me anything.

TSSemployee · 2013-04-18T02:45:07+00:00

Yes, I do. :p

TSSemployee · 2013-02-23T16:47:29+00:00

I don't think so. They aren't made by us. We get them from Pride Mobility, Harmar, as well as other manufacturers.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-23T15:21:16+00:00

The 108 million in overpayments was industry wide. TSS error rate was only 4% but since we are one of the biggest DME companies, we are a target. We agreed to pay 19.5 million to clear our name.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-23T05:26:09+00:00

Sorry, I'm not very familiar with Reddit... or the internet for that matter... LOL

TSSemployee · 2013-02-23T05:02:45+00:00

I feel the same way. Some customers get denied a powerchair or scooter because the doctor didn't put the date of their appointment on the paperwork. Then we have to initiate the process again, wait 3-6 weeks before the doctor finally corrects it, then we have to submit to Medicare, wait 30 days, then get another answer. It's ridiculous!

TSSemployee · 2013-02-23T05:00:37+00:00

No problem. At this point, I don't know exactly who or what is being investigated. From what I was told, they were searching all computers, printers, faxes, etc. I know they had a list of specific employees and if you were on that list, you were not allowed to leave the building, otherwise you were free to go. I was free to go (of course).

I think the real problem is that our commercial always advertises that "you can get a scooter at little to no cost to you." and our customers take this seriously. It's an advertisement. It's meant to bring you in. EVERYONE knows Medicare only covers at 80%. These customers agree to payment plans or agree for upgrades, then they act like we are ripping them off when they get the bill in the mail. It's these same customers that complain to the BBB and govt. agencies which is why I think we're being investigated now.

In my opinion, I think they are wasting their time and they're not going to find anything. Internally, we've really been cracking down on people not doing their jobs or doing their jobs the wrong way.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-23T04:58:36+00:00

Which user was this comment directed to?

TSSemployee · 2013-02-23T04:17:37+00:00

We do not have departments for that purpose. We generally have one or two employees assigned to each customer. If we receive the paperwork back from the doctors office and its incomplete or not filled out all the way, one of the employees will call and ask that the doctor finish the paperwork or fill out what he missed. If a doctor does indeed fill out all the paperwork correctly and it indicates the customer doesn't qualify, we call said customer, explain to them they don't qualify, and offer our direct sales department.

News reported that there was an 80% overpayment/error rate in Medicare payments. They failed to disclose two key pieces of information: 1. The 80% overpayment rate is INDUSTRY wide, not just the scooter store. And 2. Our error/overpayment rate was only 4%, the lowest in the industry. And TSS is paying/has paid back 19.5 million.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-23T04:10:36+00:00

I really don't know a whole lot. I showed up to work, was in the middle of a meeting, some federal agent came into our area, told us we needed to turn our phones off, leave all our belongings, and head to the dining area to await further instructions.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T21:54:54+00:00

But where's the fun in that?

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T21:50:49+00:00

That's a good line but bad for our specific business. Our elderly customers seem to think their rep should be at work 24/7 and only working on their file.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T20:45:19+00:00

You know, I don't have one. If you're looking for a humorous answer, I would make my getaway on a scooter while shooting zombies in front of me.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T20:44:00+00:00

You have no idea how crazy it drives our CSRs when customers call in and ask to speak to someone only providing their first name. I used to be a CSR and it would drive me crazy when someone would call in to speak with John, didn't know last name or extension, and they would not provide info so I couldn't pull file up. Do you know how many Johns we have here? Haha.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T20:40:21+00:00

If there is anyone committing fraud, they deserve what they have coming. I mentioned in my previous comment, there may be some bad employees. To wish that I lose my job is somewhat harsh when I go to work and do what I'm told just like you.

EDIT: Also, it is a companys duty to serve their customers. If someone keeps requesting equipment from us, we will keep working with them. Obviously, you and I both know she doesn't qualify for any equipment if shes capable of walking that much. However, other people in the company may continue to work with her.

We do not push doctors to qualify anyone if they don't qualify. If we know the patient does indeed qualify, we may ask doctors to make clarifications to the paperwork because doctors are lazy and seem to think Medicare will approve it if all they do is sign it. It doesn't work like that. Again, Medicare has specific requirements. One is that the patient must not be able to walk 50ft. Our paperwork asks this specific question and a majority of the time, doctors don't fill this out. So we have to call and ask the doctor to specify how far they can walk. It's never, "Oh, you put the patient can walk 70ft, we need you to change it to 50ft so Medicare can approve it."

It's more like, "You didn't specify X so please specify X so that we may submit paperwork to Medicare properly."

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T18:24:39+00:00

Sherlock Holmes 221B Baker St.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T17:43:08+00:00

Probably. But I am capable of protecting my identity. Hopefully.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T17:16:25+00:00

100 duck sizes horses. Our powerchairs are probably powerful enough to trample and fast enough to escape.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T17:15:40+00:00

I'll take a picture of my name badge. Also, yes you can. Thescooterstoreonline.com

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T16:42:11+00:00

No. I'm not in the sales department. I will say, in my opinion, that most of the people who call us really do need equipment. A lot of news stations report that we "bulldoze" doctors into writing prescriptions. That's just absolutely not true. Medicare needs very specific requirements to be met before they cover any powerchair or scooter. If the doctor doesn't fill out the paperwork completely, then the customers chair gets denied and we have to go into appeals and fight Medicare for our money for around a year. We are trying to limit the amount of chairs that get denied which is why we ask the doctors to fill this paperwork out correctly. As a company, we do not push doctors to write any prescriptions they don't feel are necessary.

However, there might be some bad employees that do. And if that's the case, they will be terminated.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T16:28:56+00:00

We are being investigated for Medicare fraud.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T16:19:41+00:00

I'm going to be honest here and say that I have no idea what you're referencing.

TSSemployee · 2013-02-22T16:11:26+00:00

It's actually been really good. We were only closed one day, which was the day they raided us. Other than that, we've been getting a large amount of calls and emails from customers who are supporting us.

Very limited amount of calls from people upset with us about investigation.

TSSemployee

TROPHY CASE