The Strike Force
One has to stop and wonder--is it because of the `Strike Force` cracking down, or is it because publicity of these events gain so much public attention, therefore giving struggling clinics, etc. the idea in the first place? It is difficult to sum up the amount of Medicare fraud that occurs on an annual basis since not all fraud is detected and therefore is difficult to track. The Office of Management and Budget for Medicare estimates that $47.9 billion dollars in 2010 were ``improper payments`` but this cannot be proven since some of those payments were later found to be completely valid. Because Medicare is based on an ``honor system`` of billing there are few safeguards to eliminate fraudulent claims.
Since its inception in March of 2007, the Strike Force (which operates in 9 locations across the nation) has charged over 1,160 defendants with Medicare fraud. These 1,160 offenders have accumulated more than $2.9 billion in falsified Medicare claims. In July of 2010 the Medicare Fraud Strike Force revealed their biggest unearthing of fraudulent activity to date--after charging 94 people across the United States for purportedly submitting a total of $251 million in falsified Medicare claims. This group of defendants included medical assistants, health care firm owners as well as doctors and physicians, of which 36 of them have been found and arrested. Strike Force then outdid that 2010 investigation when last year a nationwide takedown led to 91 perpetrators charged with Medicare fraud totaling in the amount of $295 million.
Medicare is something that all Americans pay for and no one has the right to take advantage of! If you suspect Medicare fraud--don`t turn a blind eye to it! Contact the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice at:www.stopmedicarefraud.gov/