Health Law Attorney Blog90 Individuals Charged with $260 Million False Medicare Billings in National Takedown by Medicare Fraud Strike Force
On Tuesday, May 13, 2014, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) held a joint news conference to announce that the Medicare Fraud Strike Force had conducted a nationwide takedown of 90 individuals involving approximately $260 million in fraudulent Medicare billings. The nationwide takedown marked the seventh such takedown in Medicare Fraud Strike Force history. Since the Strike Force’s inception in March 2007, operations in nine locations have charged nearly 1,900 defendants and include allegations of falsely Medicare billings of almost $6 billion. Additionally, CMS, working in conjunction with the DHHS Office of Inspector General, has suspended the enrollments of high-risk providers in five Strike force locations and has removed over 17,000 providers from the Medicare program since 2011.
The Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a multi-agency team of federal, state and local investigators designed to combat Medicare fraud through the use of Medicare data analysis techniques and an increased focus on community policing. Almost 400 law enforcement agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG, multiple Medicaid Fraud Control Units and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the takedown.
The recent takedown involved six locations, including Miami, Tampa, Houston, Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York. The charges included allegations that the defendants committed various health care fraud-related crimes, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, violations of the anti-kickback statute and money laundering. The charges are based on a variety of alleged fraud schemes involving various medical treatments and services, including home health care, mental health services, psychotherapy, physical and occupational therapy, durable medical equipment and pharmacy fraud. Of the 90 individuals charged, 27 were health care professionals, including 16 physicians.
For more information regarding complying with federal and state health care fraud laws, please contact the Health Law Partners, at (248) 996-8510 or online at www.thehlp.com.