Multi-State Crackdown on Medicare Fraud

The AP reports that "federal agents arrested 26 suspects in three states Tuesday, including a doctor and nurses, in a major crackdown on Medicare fraud totaling $61 million in separate scams." HHS and the Department of Justice said that the 32 suspects arrested in Miami, Brooklyn, and Detroit "lined up bogus patients and otherwise billed Medicare for unnecessary medical equipment, physical therapy and HIV infusions." With Tuesday's arrests, the "Medicare Fraud strike force formed by the Justice and Health departments has now charged suspects accused of bilking Medicare of more than $1 billion in less than two years." Also on Tuesday, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced "the operation will expand to Tampa, Fla., Baton Rouge, La., and Brooklyn."

CNN reports, "The largest case, in Miami, involved a doctor and nurses who allegedly ordered home healthcare services that were not medically necessary. 'When someone sends fraudulent bills to Medicare, they are stealing American taxpayer dollars that are intended for those most in need,'" said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer."