GAO Spotlights Top Provider Types for Criminal/Civil Health Fraud
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report breaks down the provider types most frequently involved with Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program fraud cases in 2010. Highlights include the following:
- Medical facilities (including medical centers, clinics, or practices) and DME suppliers were the most-frequent subjects of criminal health care fraud investigations, comprising about 40% of subjects. Of the 7,848 subjects associated with criminal cases, about 1,100 were charged and 85% of those charged were found guilty or pled guilty or no contest.
- Hospitals and medical facilities were the most-frequent subjects investigated in civil health fraud cases (38% of 2,339 subjects), but more than half of the subjects of civil cases were not pursued for various reasons. In 2010, 88% of subjects investigated in civil cases were investigated in qui tam cases. Of these, 52% cases were either voluntarily dismissed by the relator (34%) or were declined by the US Attorney’s Offices or the Department of Justice’s Civil Division (18%).
- Almost 2,200 individuals and entities were excluded from federal programs for health care fraud convictions and other reasons (including license revocation and program-related convictions). About 60% of excluded individuals were in the nursing profession.
- Based on data from 10 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCU), over 40% of the 2,742 subjects investigated for health care fraud in Medicaid and CHIP in 2010 were home health care providers and health care practitioners. Civil health care fraud cases pursued by these MFCUs in 2010 resulted in judgments and settlements totaling nearly $829 million, with pharmaceutical manufacturers paying more than 60% of that amount.
