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…
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…
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…
With about one-third of the cost of the healthcare industry in the U.S. lost to fraud, waste, and abuse, it is vitally important to society that we report healthcare fraud when we see it. While it is certainly helpful to familiarize yourself with the most common healthcare fraud schemes and…
With the high number of TRICARE fraud cases in the United States, it is no wonder that healthcare fraud is the second highest priority of focus for the U.S. Department of Justice. The $2.7 trillion healthcare industry is an enticing target for those wanting to commit healthcare fraud, which is…
Ever since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, all violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) have been actionable under the False Claims Act (FCA). In plain language, this means that, if you are aware that people in your workplace are defrauding government agencies, you can file a…
Medicare and Medicaid are taxpayer-funded healthcare programs instituted for the purpose of ensuring that all Americans have access to basic health services. Fraud on the part of health care providers is a major threat to these programs and to the health of millions of Americans who benefit from their services.…
Alere, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Alere San Diego agreed to pay the U.S. $33.2 million to resolve allegations that the medical device manufacturer violated the False Claims Act. (Alere was acquired by Abbott, one of the world’s largest healthcare companies, in October 2017.) According to the Department of…
In March, the Department of Justice for the Eastern District of California announced the federal government and California reached a settlement agreement with Kmart. The retailer, based in Illinois with locations throughout California, will pay $525,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act by knowingly submitting…
In April 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced that two physicians pled guilty to participating in a health care fraud scheme against TRICARE, the health care program for U.S. service members and their families. Carl Lindblad, 53, and Susan Vergot, 31, were charged with…