An episode of a show called ‘This Morning’ by CBS that aired in January ran a cutting expose on the scooter store explaining how the store pestered doctors to prescribe the chairs produced by the company for their patients, most of whom were eligible for Medicare or Medicaid.
It was a plot by the company to get the government to pay their bills for all the unnecessary medical devices while the patient is happy with the new scooter without having to pay for it and the scooter store on the other hand would make profits. CBS was informed by many doctors and former employees that they were harassed by the company with never ending phone calls and continuous office visits in order to wear them down. There was also an entire different department in the company that was devoted to getting chairs for patients who were ruled ineligible by Medicare. A massive raid was launched by 150 Federal and state law enforcement agents.
The capability of the scooter store in selling their chairs was found through a government audit when they found that they had overbilled Medicare by over $100 million from 2009 to 2012. The FBI had the 1,200 employees of the company escorted from the company headquarters that was situated in New Braunfels, Texas and were not allowed inside again as the FBI searched nook and corner for clues. The FBI hadn’t gone after the customers who really didn’t have a need of the scooter or wheelchair and yet got themselves one with false recommendations.
The scooter store was also once sued in 2005, by the U.S. Justice Department with the allegation that the scooter store advertisement encouraged the senior citizens to get themselves power scooters which would be paid by Medicare. The company had then sold more expensive scooters to patients who didn’t really need them. However, this was later settled by the company on 2007, by a payment of $4 million. The store lost its ability to sell its products in Chapter 11 bankruptcy by losing its Federal contract with Medicare which was effective October, 2013.