Final answer:
Medicare fraud involves intentional deception and false claims to obtain payment, while Medicare abuse refers to practices inconsistent with professional standards that result in unnecessary costs to the program.
Step-by-step explanation:
Medicare fraud and abuse are two related but distinct concepts in the field of healthcare.
Medicare fraud refers to the intentional submission of false claims or misleading information to obtain payment from the Medicare program. Examples of Medicare fraud include billing for services not provided or performing unnecessary procedures to receive higher reimbursements.
Medicare abuse, on the other hand, involves practices that are inconsistent with professional standards and result in unnecessary costs to the Medicare program. Abuse may involve billing errors, improper medical coding, or providing medically unnecessary services.
While both fraud and abuse involve improper practices, the key distinction lies in the intentional deception and financial gain associated with fraud, whereas abuse may be unintentional or the result of poor practices without fraudulent intent.