On June 18, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) arrested 243 individuals for allegedly participating in Medicare/Medicaid fraud schemes. The government claims that combined, the cases involve $712 million in supposedly false billings. As part of the sweep, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (“CMS”) also suspended a number of providers’ ability to bill Medicare using the Affordable Care Act’s suspension authority. 16 individuals in the Metro Detroit area were arrested as part of the sweep. The arrests were credited to the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (“HEAT”), a joint initiative between HHS and the Justice Department. HEAT operates in regions of concern throughout the U.S., including the Baton Rouge, Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade and Tampa Bay areas.
The government claims that the fraud occurred in various areas of healthcare, including home health care, psychotherapy, physical and occupational therapy, durable medical equipment (“DME”) and pharmacy. Court documents claim that those charged were involved in billing Medicare and Medicaid for treatment that never occurred, treatment that was not medically necessary or for the payment of kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals.
The attorneys at The Health Law Partners have a significant amount of experience throughout the country in defending against allegations of health care fraud, white collar criminal defense, civil defense, and compliance guidance to mitigate the risk of adverse action by regulators. For more information regarding such matters, please contact Adrienne Dresevic, Esq. or Clinton Mikel, Esq. at (248) 996-8510 or adresevic@thehlp.com or cmikel@thehlp.com