Five states involved in Medicare scam caught by feds

The Justice Department struck a major blow for Medicare fraud prevention Friday. No-nonsense health care reform was introduced in these states to health care business owners, medical billers, nurses, and doctors in coordinated raids by the feds. 94 individuals have to fight in court in what is the biggest coordinated series of federal health care fraud cases the US has ever seen. $ 251 million was stolen by the defendants through the Medicare system, and they’re being charged for all of it. Resource for this article – Federal agents raid huge Medicare fraud operations in five states by Personal Money Store.

Medicare fraud sting snares full spectrum of crooks

Because of the Medicare fraud, the feds arrested individuals in Baton Rouge, LA, Brooklyn, NY, Detroit, Houston, and Miami. For services never executed, health care professionals of all kinds accepted money for services that they never really did. Even though none of these happened, Medicare was charged for all of them, including physical and occupational therapy, HIV infusions, and home health care.

Medicare fraud must stop if health care reform is to work
The health care reform agenda required a Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team to be put into place in 2009. Illicit billing, which is the primary way fraud happens, is found by the team using electronic claims data. Human services secretary and Attorney General, Kathleen Sebelius and Eric H Holder Jr., held a “summit” in Miami that was the be the first of many which began the arrests. The massive Medicare fraud raid was a PR opportunity for a concerted crackdown on fraud that is a key part of the administration’s health care reform agenda.

Medicare fraud practiced in plain sight

There were numerous 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 people lined up to receive their illegal payments.

Miami is the perfect place for Medicare Fraud

The Medicare fraud arrests were made by more than 350 agents for the Health and Human Services’ inspector general’s office and also the FBI. It was the biggest takedown of Medicare fraud offenders since the federal program was started in 1965. Most of the people were arrested in Miami on the exact same day as the fraud summit. Federal indictments shows us that in the Miami-Dade county, there were 25 suspects arrested and charged for stealing $ 103 million in fraudulent health care claims.

More details available at these sites

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