The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to make prosecution of health care fraud a top priority. Since October 1st alone, the feds have pursued over a dozen health care fraud cases throughout the country. Some of the more notable include allegations against the following:
#1: Physicians.
The DOJ just indicted a physician who practices in Arizona of 50 different criminal charges connected to allegations of fraudulent healthcare billing. The feds also settled with two physicians out of Texas who agreed to pay almost $4 million to resolve allegations of false billing claim violations connected to allegedly unnecessary urine drug testing.
The government is also going after the chair of a cardiothoracic surgery department in the Pittsburgh area, stating the physician was part of a false claims scheme involving the hospital system and its physician group. This is one of the more recent, as the DOJ just filed the complaint this month.
#2: Physical therapists.
The DOJ also charged six physical therapists with healthcare fraud. The feds claim the professionals were part of a scheme that cost the government approximately $20 million in claims paid for services that were never provided.
#3: Medical practices.
In addition to individual professionals, the government has also built cases up against medical practices. In one recent example, the DOJ claims a group’s billing errors led to over $1 million in claims for serves the feds state were not medically necessary.
This is just a sampling of the cases the DOJ has pursued in just the last few weeks, some relatively new and others wrapping up. These cases showcase how the government continues to aggressively pursue allegations of healthcare fraud throughout the country.
Attorney John Rivas is responsible for this communication
