DOJ Official calls health care fraud "particularly severe."
The White Collar Crime Prof Blog is posting information from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer's Annual Defending the White Collar Case Seminar. A keynote address was given by Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Justice.
Breuer had the following to say about health care fraud:
"On the topic of health care fraud, which he called 'particularly severe,' Breuer said that much of the $800 billion dollars per annum that the government spends on Medicare and Medicaid is lost to 'waste, fraud and abuse,' which he estimated at a minimum of 3% of those expenditures. In this context, interagency efforts are being pursued in what he characterized as an 'innovative, data driven approach.' For example, pointing to multiple recent indictments in Detroit, Mich., he said that government investigation is driven by data such as information about which geographic areas have higher Medicare billing. He promised that such enforcement action will be spreading to new cities, explaining that government data shows that Medicare billings go down after the strike force goes into cities. "
The White Collar Crime Prof Blog is edited by Ellen S. Podgor, Professor of Law, Stetson University College of Law. The Breuer post was written by Guest Blogger Ivan J. Dominguez, Assistant Director of Public Affairs & Communications, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
