Last year was a record year for cracking down on health care fraud, with $4.3 billion in recovery from fraud busts nationwide. The Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services announced last week the record performance for the year, as well as a total for $19.2 billion over the last five.
For every dollar spent on investigating home health care fraud over the last three years, the government recovered more than $8—the highest three-year average return on investment in the history of the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program.
The HCFAC’s annual report was touted by its leaders as a measure of success in combating health care fraud nationwide, in part attributable to recent efforts such as the establishment of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) in 2009.
“With these extraordinary recoveries, and the record-high rate of return on investment we’ve achieved on our comprehensive health care fraud enforcement efforts, we’re sending a strong message to those who would take advantage of their fellow citizens, target vulnerable populations, and commit fraud on federal health care programs,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “Thanks to initiatives like HEAT, our work to combat fraud has never been more cooperative or more effective. And our unprecedented commitment to holding criminals accountable, and securing remarkable results for American taxpayers, is paying dividends.”
The report details home health fraud busts including those that received national press in Miami, Detroit, and others, resulting in charges and sentencing for those convicted of those charges.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
