Medicare fraud

Health Care Fraud Enforcement Act Will Strengthen Tools To Investigate Health Care Fraud

WASHINGTON -- October 28, 2009 – Following a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday on “Effective Strategies for Preventing Health Care Fraud,” Senator Patrick Leahy joined with Senator Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) to introduce the Health Care Fraud Enforcement Act. The legislation is also cosponsored by Committee members Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.    » read more »

October 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Mylan Pharmaceuticals, UDL Laboratories, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical have entered into settlement agreements for a total of $124 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay appropriate rebates to state Medicaid programs for drugs paid for by those programs, the Justice Department announced today.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- October 14, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Wednesday announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on October 21 to examine health care fraud prevention.    » read more »

Boomers Skipping Care, Likely Driving Up Future Costs; 1 in 5 People in Medicare Have Experienced Waste, Fraud or Abuse

September 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—As AARP continues to fight for health care reforms that will reduce costs and improve access to coverage, new survey data released today find many older Americans—particularly baby boomers—need help more than ever.

The AARP Closer LookSM survey finds more than one-third of boomers (36 percent) and nearly a quarter of people 65-plus (23 percent) are not confident their insurance and savings would cover the costs of a major illness.    » read more »

New Jersey University Hospital to Pay Additional $2 Million to Resolve Fraud Claims That Facility Double Billed Medicaid

June 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) has agreed to pay the United States $2 million to resolve federal civil fraud allegations that its hospital defrauded Medicaid, the Justice Department announced today.

From 1993 to 2004, UMDNJ’s University Hospital submitted claims to Medicaid for outpatient physician services that were also being billed by doctors working in the hospital’s outpatient centers. By submitting duplicate claims for payment, University Hospital effectively doubled billed the government’s Medicaid program.    » read more »

Sen. Martinez requests briefing on joint DoJ & HHS health care fraud plan

June 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today called for a briefing from the departments of Justice (DoJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) on their interagency effort to combat Medicare fraud.

Specifically, Senator Martinez is asking for the departments to provide information about the data-driven approach to prevent and detect Medicare fraud, plans to identify new geographic areas requiring targeted enforcement, the strategy to conduct on-site verification of medical equipment suppliers, compliance training for Medicare providers, and efforts to strengthen compliance and enforcement in Medicare Parts C and D.    » read more »

May 20, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond released the following statement on today’s announcement on the creation of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team by the departments of Health and Human Services and Justice.

“The skyrocketing costs of health care are hurting Americans’ wallets and the bedrock programs like Medicare that millions of Americans depend on. Too much of that spending is lost to health care fraud. We simply cannot afford to pay for care that is never delivered and equipment that is not needed.    » read more »

May 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- AARP today announced its endorsement of the bipartisan “Seniors and Taxpayers Obligation Protection (STOP) Act,” sponsored by Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL), Bill Nelson (D-FL) and John Cornyn (R-TX). This legislation will help curb the billions of dollars spent on Medicare fraud each year. A statement from AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond follows:

“The skyrocketing costs of health care are hurting our wallets and the bedrock programs like Medicare that millions of Americans depend on. That’s why AARP is working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to reform the health care system—including cracking down on the fraud, waste and abuse that are driving up costs.    » read more »

May 12, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—As the Administration prepares to announce another drop in the lifespan of the Medicare trust fund, AARP’s Health Action Now campaign is insisting that comprehensive health reform include specific measures to cut wasteful spending and lower costs for individuals—all while improving the quality of care. The organization is focusing on reducing waste in Medicare, particularly by reducing costly hospital readmissions and cutting billions of dollars in fraud.

“For most Americans, the biggest roadblock to health care is cost,” said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. “By rooting out the waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, we can improve the health of people in the program, improve access to quality care and save billions of dollars.”    » read more »

Budget Helps Control the Skyrocketing Cost of Health Care, Cuts Waste & Fraud from Medicare and Protects Public Health

May 7, 2009 -- Citing the rapidly escalating cost of health care in this country and the enormous pressures that health care costs are putting on our economic future, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today highlighted key reforms in President Obama’s 2010 HHS budget.

“This budget sends a clear message that we can’t afford to wait any longer if we want to get health care costs under control and improve our fiscal outlook,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Investing in health reform today will help bring down costs tomorrow and ensure all Americans have access to the quality care they need and deserve.”    » read more »

March 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – A federal jury in Miami today convicted two physicians and two medical assistants in connection with a $5.3 million Medicare fraud scheme, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of the Southern District of Florida announced.

After a two-week trial in federal court in Miami, a jury found David Rothman, M.D., 66; Keith Russell, M.D., 65; Eda Marietta Milanes, 43; and Jorge Luis Pacheco, 50; guilty on all charged counts, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and multiple counts of health care fraud for submitting claims to Medicare for unnecessary medications.    » read more »