https://freerepublic.com/tag/hiddenfees/ en-us Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:01:50 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4391301/posts Taxpayers are unknowingly paying private consultants a cut of the Medicaid money the consultants help states claim for school-based health services. Federal auditors have flagged more than $1.5 billion of those claims as improper or unsupported across four states, and the consultant was the same in every one: Boston-based Public Consulting Group (PCG). New Jersey’s audit states the firm was hired “on a contingency fee basis,” and the Government Accountability Office has found consultants building school Medicaid claims collected fees of 3 to 25 percent of the federal reimbursement. The more school-staff time coded as “Medicaid,” the bigger the check.... Open The Books https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4391301/posts#comment Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:01:50 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2463638/posts Nothing succeeds in the travel industry like a bad idea. The latest hidden mandatory add-on is a "health" charge added to restaurant bills. As far as I know, this scam cropped up first in San Francisco, but you can count on it to spread. The rationale for this one is to cover the employers' mandatory contribution to the City's "Healthy San Francisco" health-coverage system. The charge actually is levied on employers, but at least some restaurants are adding a few dollars or percentage points to each customer's bill to cover this charge. The restaurants' excuse for assessing this charge separately... The Chicago Tribune https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2463638/posts#comment Thu, 4 Mar 2010 01:43:27 GMT