Alleged Medicare fraud ring busted in LA area

The Sacramento Bee reports:

Five members of a Russian-Armenian organized crime ring have been indicted for allegedly bilking Medicare of more than $20 million, authorities said.

The group operated medical clinics and laboratories in Los Angeles, Glendale and Pasadena that paid marketers for patient referrals and billed Medicare for tests that were unnecessary or were not done, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Searby wrote in court papers. The alleged fraud took place between 1997 and 2005.

To those who say private medical care "wastes resources" on marketing and advertising: here's a glimpse of what universal Medicare will be like.