NEWS: The OIG and the Justice Department Take Down Fraud

This week saw the largest takedown in history, announced the OIG HHS and the Justice Department on Wednesday.

The results of the takedown:

301 defendants have been charged

61 of which are doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals

$900 million in false billings

23 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units participated in the arrests

The Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said, “The wrongdoers that we pursue in these operations seek to use public funds for private enrichment. They target real people – many of them in need of significant medical care. They promise effective cures and therapies, but they provide none. Above all, they abuse basic bonds of trust – between doctor and patient; between pharmacist and doctor; between taxpayer and government – and pervert them to their own ends. The Department of Justice is determined to continue working to ensure that the American people know that their health care system works for them – and them alone.”

The defendants allegedly submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid for treatments that were medically unnecessary and/or never performed. It’s estimated that they collectively submitted a total of approximately $900 million in fraudulent billing.
For more information visit the OIG.HHS.GOV website.

[Source OIG.HHS.GOV]