Medicare fraud was hit hard Friday by the Justice Department. The feds planned out raids which were to show no-nonsense health care reform to all nurses, doctors, medical billers, and health care business owners in five different states involved. Authorities announced charges against 94 individuals in what is being called the largest coordinated series of federal health care fraud cases in U.S. history. The Medicare fraud defendants are accused of milking the Medicare system out of more than $ 251 million.
Many different people involved in Medicare fraud
Because of the Medicare fraud, the feds arrested individuals in Baton Rouge, LA, Brooklyn, NY, Detroit, Houston, and Miami. ABC News reports that nurses, doctors, and even health care professionals accepted additional money from medical service providers for things that were never even done. Then the service provider would bill Medicare for the bogus services, including HIV infusions, home health care and physical and occupational therapy.
Medicare fraud crackdown key to health care reform
In 2009, the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team was began as part of the health care reform agenda. The team uses electronic claims data and the threat of federal prosecution to seek out the illicit billing that has become a staple of Medicare fraud. The arrests came as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held the first in a series of regional “summits” on health care fraud prevention in Miami. As part of the health care reform agenda, this Medicare fraud raid was significant to let businesses know the Obama administration means it.
Shown right out is Medicare Fraud
There were many Medicare fraud operations that weren’t even hard to see. The Washington Post reports that in one alleged $ 70 million scheme operated out of a Brooklyn, N.Y., clinic, more than 1,000 cash kickbacks were paid to Medicare beneficiaries out of a “kickback room”. ”Don’t Gossip,” was written on one sign where individuals lined up to receive their illegal payments.
Medicare fraud often happens in Miami
All arrests were made by 350 agents that worked for either the FBI or Health and Human Services’ inspector general’s office. It was the biggest takedown of Medicare fraud offenders since the federal program was began in 1965. Miami bore the biggest harvest of crooks on the very same day the health care fraud summit took place there. 25 suspects were charged just from the Miami-Dade county for stealing $ 103 million, according to federal indictments.
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ABC News
abcnews.go.com/WN/government-agents-uncover-medicare-fraud-operations-cities/story?id=11180320&page=2
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/16/AR2010071603876.html?hpid=topnews
Miami Herald
miamiherald.com/2010/07/16/1733354/crackdown-nets-about-100-medicare.html
