Feds say they recovered $1 billion in fiscal 2008

The U.S. Justice Department and HHS’ inspector general’s office recovered $1 billion in judgments and settlements in fiscal 2008 for the federal government, according to the annual report of the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the departments are required to coordinate and issue reports on their efforts to fight fraud perpetrated against federal health programs. The reports are generally issued about a year after the close of the fiscal year they cover. In fiscal 2008, about $1.94 billion was returned to the Medicare Trust Fund as a result of enforcement actions in that year and previous years, and $344 million in Medicaid funds was returned to the U.S. Treasury. U.S. attorneys, meanwhile, opened 957 new criminal cases involving healthcare fraud, filed criminal charges against 797 defendants and won 588 convictions. The Justice Department’s civil division opened 843 new healthcare fraud investigations.
Modern Healthcare by Gregg Blesch, October 23, 2009

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