Under the federal Anti-Kickback statute, doctors and other healthcare professionals are prohibited from knowingly or willfully paying, offering, soliciting, or accepting remuneration in exchange for patient referrals. Under the statute, it is also illegal to offer something of value or pay for payments of goods and services that healthcare professionals…
There are many different types of whistleblower claims that involve physicians and other medical providers defrauding the government. Some of the most common involve Stark Law violations. Stark Law was enacted over two decades ago and was meant to ensure that patients receive the best care possible, and that physicians…
People make mistakes in the course of their job every day. When those ‘mistakes’ are intentionally made by a physician or health care billing administrator, though, they are considered fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has spent the last few years cracking down on health care fraud, with the…
Those who are under investigation for health care fraud may face years in federal prison if they are found guilty, or they ay face civil charges that result in much less severe penalties. It is up to the discretion of the federal prosecutor to determine if the case will be…
On December 21, 2018, the Department of Justice released its statistics for Fiscal Year 2018 for actions taken under the Federal False Claims Act. The news release listed several notable cases and provided daunting statistics regarding the scope of fraud committed against the government in our country. Federal False Claims…
Every day we hear shocking news about the opioid epidemic, from the number of deaths from overdoses to the sheer amount of distribution arrests to the amount of money government is spending to combat the problem. One of the areas that the public may not know about, however, is how…
A doctor was arrested on December 13, 2018 for improperly distributing opioids to his patients and billing Medicare for the drugs. The doctor now faces 45 federal charges relating to healthcare fraud for not only prescribing illicit drugs to patients but requiring those with insurance to accept injections so that…
During this final week of Medicare open enrollment, you may receive multiple calls each day regarding your Medicare coverage. Many of these calls may be scams, and unless you know exactly what to watch out for, these scams can be difficult to spot. Make sure you follow the guidelines below…
There is no such thing as “good” fraud, but on the hierarchy of Medicare fraud from bad to worst, hospice fraud is arguably one of the most despicable types. Medicare Part A covers hospice care for patients who are “terminally ill,” or have a life expectancy of six months or…
One common category of healthcare fraud schemes in the medical laboratory industry revolves around medically unnecessary testing. There are many different ways in which the medical laboratory industry fraudulently commits medically unnecessary testing, which are highlighted below. If you believe you have witnessed healthcare fraud involving medically unnecessary testing, contact…