Federal regulators have barred 11 medical equipment companies from receiving future Medicare Advantage and Part D payments after linking them to more than $3.4 billion in suspected fraudulent billing during 2025 and 2026. Every one of the 11 billed Medicare for equipment supplied to beneficiaries who were already deceased, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in the agency's enforcement announcement.
For families, that detail is the part worth pausing on. Claims filed under a dead relative's Medicare number are not an abstract accounting problem. They generate real paperwork, land in real statements, and are frequently discovered by an adult child or a surviving spouse sorting through mail during the worst weeks of their life.
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said operators exploiting the recently deceased represent "a level of indecency that we will not stand for."
Inside the Billing Pattern Regulators Describe
The 11 companies supply what Medicare calls durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies. That category covers catheters, braces, wheelchairs, walkers, and similar items, and it has been a recurring target for fraudulent billing schemes for decades.
CMS said the 11 shared a distinct profile. None had submitted any claims before 2025. All used improper billing practices. All billed for equipment furnished to beneficiaries who had died. And all supplied equipment to beneficiaries who never requested or received it. Four had already been revoked from Original Medicare and had shifted to billing Medicare Advantage plans instead, which is the gap this action is meant to close.
The mechanism is the CMS Preclusion List, which blocks Medicare Advantage and Part D plans from paying a supplier whose conduct the agency has determined is detrimental to the Medicare program. It is an administrative tool, not a criminal proceeding.
That distinction is easy to blur. CMS describes this billing as suspected fraudulent activity. No indictments, convictions, or civil settlements were announced alongside the action, and the release did not name the companies. Preclusion stops future payments. It is not a finding of guilt in court.
Two Cases Where Payments Were Stopped Before They Cleared
CMS detailed two episodes it called particularly egregious, together involving nearly $24 million in claims that the agency says never reached the suppliers.
A Florida-based provider submitted roughly $18.4 million in catheter claims across two consecutive days in December 2025, according to the agency, including $6.1 million covering 500 beneficiaries on the first day and $12.3 million covering 777 beneficiaries on the next. CMS said its payment suspension authority under Original Medicare stopped those payments.
A Texas-based company submitted about $5.5 million in orthotics claims, which CMS also suspended before payment. Investigators interviewed six beneficiaries who said they did not know the ordering providers, had never heard of the company, and did not need the orthotics. The agency also identified claims for nine beneficiaries with service dates after their deaths and determined the supplier was not operating at its reported location.
CMS described two additional patterns. A New Jersey firm was precluded after billing a Medicare Advantage plan for 38 separate encounters on dates when the beneficiary was already deceased, alongside member complaints about equipment they had never requested. A Florida company was flagged over a suspected telemarketing scheme involving oversupplied equipment, with several beneficiaries reporting they never received braces the company billed for.
This action follows a similar one in August, when CMS said it had prevented fraudulent Medicare laboratory payments totaling $1.6 billion. Both were carried out with the HHS Office of Inspector General as part of a broader anti-fraud push tied to the White House Anti-Fraud Task Force.
Households Are Often the First to Spot These Claims
Beneficiaries themselves rarely lose money directly to these schemes, because the fraudulent claims are paid by Medicare rather than the patient. The costs land elsewhere, in the Medicare Trust Funds and eventually in premiums.
But there are real household consequences. Equipment billed under a beneficiary's name enters that person's Medicare claims history, and Medicare limits how often it will pay for certain items. A wheelchair or brace fraudulently billed in someone's name can mean a denial when that person genuinely needs one. Sorting that out takes time and appeals.
Estates face a different version of the problem. Executors handling a parent's affairs may find equipment deliveries, invoices, or Medicare Summary Notices arriving after a death, and may not know whether these represent legitimate outstanding claims or fraudulent ones.
People with cognitive impairment, recent hospital discharges, and those living alone are frequently targeted, because telemarketing schemes rely on confusion about what a caller is actually offering. Adult children managing a parent's care from a distance are often the ones who notice the pattern first.
Checking Statements and Reporting Suspicious Charges
Households can take a few straightforward steps. Review the quarterly Medicare Summary Notice, or the explanation of benefits from a Medicare Advantage plan, and compare listed equipment against what was actually received. Anyone can also check claims at any time through a Medicare online account rather than waiting for the mail.
Treat unsolicited calls, texts, or social media messages offering free braces, catheters, or genetic testing kits as a warning sign. Legitimate equipment is ordered by a clinician who knows the patient. Do not give a Medicare number to anyone who contacts you first.
Suspected fraud can be reported to the Medicare hotline at 1-800-MEDICARE, to the HHS Office of Inspector General, or through a state Senior Medicare Patrol, which offers free help reviewing statements and filing reports. Executors handling an estate can report claims filed after a date of death the same way. CMS maintains additional fraud prevention resources on its website.
CMS said it will keep working with the inspector general and other program integrity partners to identify suspicious billing. The agency announced no timeline for further actions and has not said whether these matters were referred for criminal prosecution.
Several questions stay open. The companies have not been publicly identified. It is unclear how much of the $3.4 billion was paid before suspensions took effect rather than being blocked. And nobody has said how many beneficiaries had equipment billed in their names without knowing.
The takeaway for households is small and specific. Read the statements, keep the Medicare number private, and report anything that does not match what arrived. Those checks catch what data analytics miss.
Key Questions Answered
What did CMS actually do? It placed 11 medical equipment suppliers on the Medicare Preclusion List, which stops Medicare Advantage and Part D plans from paying them going forward. CMS linked the companies to more than $3.4 billion in suspected fraudulent billing during 2025 and 2026.
Were any of these companies criminally charged? No charges were announced with this action. The Preclusion List is an administrative enforcement tool. CMS describes the billing as suspected fraudulent activity rather than an adjudicated finding.
Did beneficiaries lose money? Not directly in most cases, because Medicare pays these claims rather than patients. The financial harm falls on the Medicare Trust Funds. Beneficiaries can still face problems if fraudulent claims exhaust coverage limits for equipment they later need.
How would someone know if this happened to a relative? Look for equipment deliveries nobody ordered, invoices from unfamiliar suppliers, or line items on a Medicare Summary Notice that do not match what was received, including items billed after a date of death.
Who is most often targeted? Beneficiaries reached through telemarketing, particularly older adults living alone, people with cognitive impairment, and those recently discharged from a hospital or nursing facility.
How do you report suspected Medicare fraud? Call 1-800-MEDICARE, contact the HHS Office of Inspector General, or reach a state Senior Medicare Patrol for free assistance reviewing statements and filing a report.
What can families do to prevent this? Never provide a Medicare number in response to an unsolicited call, text, or online offer. Review statements quarterly, check claims through a Medicare online account, and notify Medicare promptly after a death.
