Industry Notes:
Fraud Strike Force Expands To 2 New Cities
Published on Fri Feb 04, 2011
Fraudulent home care providers figured prominently in the feds' latest massive fraud bust conducted by Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams across the nation. And the feds have added strike force teams in two new cities -- Dallas and Chicago -- bringing the total to nine cities overall. The strike force, conducted by the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services with help from the FBI and other agencies, charged 111 defendants in nine cities regarding $225 million in false Medicare billing, the DOJ says in a press release. Home health and durable medical equipment providers were charged in Miami, Detroit, Tampa, Houston, Dallas, Baton Rouge, and Chicago, the DOJ says. Services were often medically unnecessary or not provided. And providers often paid kickbacks to patient recruiters and beneficiaries, prosecutors allege. "We are waging an aggressive fight against health care fraud," Attorney General Eric Holder says in the release. Last [...]