House Bill doubles Penalties for Medicare Fraud

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives proposed a bill that ups the ante on Medicare fraud. The bill, the Medicare Fraud Enforcement and Prevention Act, will double prison sentences from 5 to 10 years and fines from $25,000 to $50,000 for Medicare fraud-related crimes, and creates a new crime for illegally distributing patients’ Medicare and Medicaid IDs or billing information (with a maximum 3-year sentence). Also, the bill requires HHS to provide law enforcement officials with real-time access to Medicare data and to immediately alert them to suspicious activity.

For more information, please contact Adrienne Dresevic, Esq., Carey F. Kalmowitz, Esq., or Robert S. Iwrey, Esq., or visit the HLP website.