Medicare Strike Force Update: The Heat Is On

By Author: Jaun Paul
Total Articles: 53
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The honeymoon period of some Medicare fraudsters may come to a halt now, what with Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) rolling into Brooklyn, NY; Tampa, FL and Baton Rouge, LA.


In order to do away with potentially fraudulent billing patterns, HEAT teams use data analysis. The commander of their ship is a federal prosecutor from the region's US Attorneys' Office or the Criminal Division's Fraud Section, and comprises agents from the FBI and HHS-OIG working the case. Already they have indicted individuals for Medicare fraud in Miami, Houston, Los Angeles and Brooklyn.


If we go by the earlier HEAT busts, the focus would be on homecare and durable medical equipment. Earlier arrests have involved alleged Medicare fraud for home health diabetes outliers, infusions, HIV treatments, etc.


According to a HHS release, in Brooklyn, the two defendants ...
... are alleged to have billed Medicare for expensive shoe inserts reserved for diabetes patients, whereas in fact much cheaper and over-the-counter shoe inserts were provided to beneficiaries who did not require them.


Tip: HEAT is not the only thing you need to keep a watch over. Medicare Fraud Control Units are becoming more aggressive these days.

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