Medicare Enforcement Increased Significantly in 2013

The U.S. Justice Department’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force set record numbers for health care prosecutions throughout the Country in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a coordinated team of investigators and prosecutors from the Justice Department, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI who, under the supervision of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and Justice Department’s Criminal Division, analyze Medicare claims data for unusual billing patterns in specific geographic areas. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force currently operates out of 9 cities: Baton Rouge, La.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Chicago; Dallas; Detroit; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami and Tampa, Fla. Since its inception in March 2007, its operations have resulted in more than 1,700 defendants being charged.

In FY 2013 alone, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force filed 137 cases charging 345 individuals. Moreover, there were 234 guilty pleas and 46 jury trial convictions. In addition, the defendants who were charged and sentenced in FY 2013 faced an average of 52 months in prison compared to an average of 47 months for those sentenced since 2007.

In light of a recent statistic from the OIG that for every $1 spent in fraud enforcement nearly $8 is received, rest assured such enforcement will continue and likely increase for the foreseeable future.

The attorneys at The Health Law Partners have a significant amount of experience in the defense of health care fraud investigations. For more information regarding such matters, please contact Robert S. Iwrey, Esq. at (248) 996-8510 or riwrey@thehlp.com