During President Bush's eight years in office, nearly $1.6 billion was
recovered on average each year by federal agents and prosecutors. In
contrast, the Obama administration has recovered an average $3.6
billion per year during each of the past three years.
Warren Richey | The Christian Science Monitor | Feb 14, 2012
The federal government recovered nearly $4.1 billion last year in an
escalating, nationwide crackdown against health-care fraud, Obama
administration officials announced Tuesday.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney
General Eric Holder made the announcement in Washington as they
released an annual report on health-care fraud enforcement.
The report shows a sharp increase in the amount of fines and
restitution recovered from health-care scams during the Obama
administration.
During President Bush's eight years in office, nearly $1.6 billion was
recovered on average each year by federal agents and prosecutors. In
contrast, the Obama administration has recovered an average $3.6
billion per year during each of the past three years.
"These accomplishments reflect this administration's ongoing and
intensive efforts to protect the American people and to safeguard
precious taxpayer dollars," Attorney General Holder said.
"It is just one of many ways this administration is working to help
the American people at a time when budgets are tight," he said.
The announcement comes as the president's health-care reform law – the
Affordable Care Act – is under siege among Republicans in Congress and
at the US Supreme Court, where lawyers for 26 states will argue next
month that it is unconstitutional.
Fighting health-care fraud is essential in an administration that is
seeking to dramatically increase the level of federal control over the
nation's health insurance system.
But it is unclear from the report to what extent the increased
recoveries are a function of more efficient law enforcement or simply
the rampant nature of fraud against the government. Estimates are that
health-care fraud diverts more than $60 billion a year from public
health care to criminal enrichment.
Administration officials insist they are bringing fraud, waste, and
abuse under control.
"We are regaining the upper hand in our fight against health-care
fraud," Secretary Sebelius said. "It has never been harder to rip off
Medicare and Medicaid, as it is today," she said.
The administration has set up health-care fraud task forces in nine
cities considered to be "hot spots" of fraud and abuse. The cities are
Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Brooklyn, Baton Rouge, Tampa,
Chicago, and Dallas. More cities are expected to be added to the
effort.
Attorney General Holder said that during the past year the Justice
Department had opened more than 1,100 new criminal health-care fraud
cases and that more than 1,800 were already pending.
In addition, more than 1,400 individuals were charged in 500 cases, he
said. Prosecutors secured 700 convictions. Along the way, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation dismantled 70 criminal enterprises engaged in
health-care fraud.
Holder said the department's civil division filed 1,000 new civil
cases in addition to 1,000 pending actions. The work resulted in $2.4
billion in recoveries under the federal False Claims Act, he said.
"These are stunning numbers," Holder said.
He noted that within the past year agents took down two of the largest
health-care fraud organizations ever uncovered.
One involved 115 individuals allegedly operating a false billing scam
in nine cities that netted more than $240 million. Another group
involved 91 individuals allegedly operating a false billing scheme in
eight cities that brought in $290 million.
Holder and Sebelius said new measures in the Affordable Care Act will
help expand the fight against fraud. One proposed rule would
establish, for the first time, a deadline for anyone receiving an
excessive payment from the government to pay the excessive amount
back.
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/federal-health-care-fraud-crackdown-saves-us-41-billion
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