Speech Pathologist Goes On Taxpayer-Funded Spending Spree

The Daily Review reports that Towanda Speech Pathologist Peter Ferrulli admitted to submitting false Medicaid claims totaling more than $365,000. Ferrulli routinely double-billed the program, and used the extra income to purchase jewelry, cars, snowmobiles, and vacations.

When investigators with the Attorney General’s Office asked Ferrulli how much money he fraudulently obtained through the Medical Assistance program, he replied “probably over a million,” according to the criminal complaint.

This is just another example of how PA’s Medicaid system is wrought with fraud and mismanagement. The State Auditor General found a Medicaid eligibility error rate of 14%, costing taxpayers upwards of $1 billion.

As I testified this spring, giving individuals more control over their health care dollars reduces costs, as participants use medical services more discriminately. This in turn would reduce the massive bureaucracy in which the potential for fraud is increased. Reducing fraud will save taxpayers, focusing Medicaid spending on those who truly need, and are eligible for, the aid.