Real Life Stories: When a Client Wants You to Lie

December 7th, 2012

If a client asks you to submit a false or altered claim, always remember to ask yourself, “Is it worth losing my license, jail time and a hefty fine?” The answer should always be no!

Submitted By Anonymous

A client was seeing me through workman’s compensation. She was going on vacation and did not want her case manager to know she was skipping two visits. She wanted me to lie and bill them for two visits that she would make up for later. I refused, and she was incensed. Still refused.

If you were confronted with the same situation again, how might you handle things differently?

Response from Anonymous

I would not have handled things differently.

Response from Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies

Refusing a client’s request to do anything illegal should be an easy decision, especially when it comes to reimbursement from a third party such as an insurance company, government agency or employer. Agreeing to receive payment for a service not performed is a serious crime and the healthcare professional could face serious consequences including fines, repayment of reimbursement and a loss of license or accreditation.

Filing a false or doctored insurance claim is considered a Federal offense under the Federal False Claims Act and is a violation of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Depending on the local jurisdiction and the severity of the fraud, punishment can range from community service and parole, a fine between $5,000 and $10,000, and/or jail from 10-20 years.

If a client asks you to submit a false or altered claim, always remember to ask yourself, “Is it worth losing my license, jail time and a hefty fine?” The answer should always be no!

About the Author

Linda Fehrs, LMT

Linda Fehrs, AAS, LMT is a freelance writer and massage therapy professional licensed by the New York State Department of Education. She is a professional member of the American Massage Therapy Association and the New York State Society of Medical Massage Therapists. Ms. Fehrs has actively practiced massage therapy in the Mid-Hudson Valley since 2002 with a focus on those with special needs, such as developmental and physical disabilities. She is a graduate of the Hudson Valley School of Massage Therapy as well as a former instructor at the school. Prior to becoming a massage therapist she was former managing editor of a weekly community newspaper and is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Ms. Fehrs currently volunteers with the Red Cross, helping to educate others about emergency preparedness and disaster relief.

6 Responses to Real Life Stories: When a Client Wants You to Lie

trina ford says:

December 10, 2012 at 4:31 pm

I know this was difficult, knowing you would probably loose this client. I would actually choose to have a massage therapist with such integrity. Thank you from all of us!

Reply
Facilitator says:

December 10, 2012 at 4:41 pm

It really only takes a second to decide on that one, even if it is an employer asking you to lie!! that happened to me and later I was fired on a trumped up charge, but I never thought twice and ended up in a better position, of course!!!! later that manager was fired.

Reply
Kweli Ya-Saleem says:

December 10, 2012 at 5:27 pm

Never lie, under ANY circumstances

Reply
Dawn P says:

December 10, 2012 at 6:41 pm

I would not lie, and I would not file a false claim or bill for services that I did not provide. I would let my client know that she should contact her case worker and explain that she needed to reschedule a couple of appointments with me. She could then resume her treatments upon her return from her trip. The case worker would be able to be kept in the loop and then the case worker and I would both have documentation as to why there was a two week break in treatments. If the client still wants you to lie and do something illegal or violates the ethics code, then it’s time to fire your client.

Reply
thelma says:

December 10, 2012 at 10:46 pm

Ask the client to tell you why you should risk losing your license and thus your livlihood, to help her cheat the system. I am guessing she would not be able to give you a good answer….because there is none.

Reply
Ivory says:

December 18, 2012 at 2:04 am

I think people do things like that because they don’t realize how serious the consequences can be for us. Honestly I think its a part of the whole thing of massage therapy still not being taken seriously as part of the medical community. You wouldn’t ask your doctor to bill the insurance for 2 visits that you didn’t have because they could get their license taken away and they worked so hard for it, whereas massage school isn’t considered real college and I find quite a few clients that don’t even realize we need licensing and proper education in order to practice. I’ve even had people tell me “Why get your license? Who cares if you’re doing it outside the law or without insurance, its not like you can hurt anybody.”

I work for a certain nationwide chain massage clinic that cares more about sales than the health and safety of their clients or employees, and they ask me to lie to clients all the time. Asking me to tell them I’m positive I can fix their problem or don’t go see a doctor just start coming in more often, that kind of thing. They look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them I’m not going to do that because I can loose my license and get sued and that’s going to follow me the rest of my life. Even if you change careers, most employers do background checks and no one’s going to want to hire you when you’ve had a license revoked and been sued for injuring someone. But even still it just gets brushed off as “its just massage, its not a big deal.”

Reply