Industry Notes:
OIG Advises Return To Operation Restore Trust
Published on Tue Mar 15, 2011
The government's fight against health care fraud has been heating up, and you can expect the fires to get even hotter. "As of March 31, 2011, our Strike Force efforts nationwide have charged over 840 defendants; obtained over 420 convictions; and secured over $380 million in court-ordered restitutions, fines, and penalties," the HHS Office of Inspector General's Gerald Roy told the Oversight & Government Reform Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives in an April 5 hearing about Medicare and Medicaid fraud. "I have never seen a more focused spotlight on this important issue," Roy told the members of Congress. "We cannot afford to let up on our efforts." A return to Operation Restore Trust-style tactics would be a good thing, Roy also implied in his testimony. And he profiled home care provider examples of fraud.