Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Providers Across The Country Are Caught In The Strike Force's Dragnet
The Associated Press: 25 From Illinois Charged In Federal Health Care Fraud Sweep
Doctors, nurses and a Medicaid recipient are among the 25 Illinois residents facing federal criminal charges as part of a nationwide health care fraud sweep that ensnared nearly 250 people. The defendants include a Chicago dermatologist accused of fraudulent billing and seven employees of area home health care companies. The federal government imposed a first-of-its-kind moratorium on enrollment of new home health providers in metropolitan Chicago in 2013. (6/18)
The Dallas Morning News: North Texans Among 243 Indicted In Major Health Care Fraud Bust
Two doctors and a nurse are among seven North Texans charged in connection with the nation’s largest home health care fraud bust, federal authorities said Thursday. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force led the nationwide effort that resulted in federal charges against 243 people, including 46 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, the U.S. attorney’s office said. (Krause, 6/18)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: 12 Ohioans Accused Of Health Care Fraud Totaling $28 Million
Twelve people, including nine from Northeast Ohio, face federal fraud charges in what prosecutors describe as three unrelated schemes that cost U.S. health care programs a total of $28 million. Delores Knight, 69, of Cleveland Heights; Theresa Adams, 42, of Twinsburg; Isaac Knight, 28, of Macedonia; Sonja Ferrell, 43, of Cleveland, and Juliet Bonner, 60, of Cleveland were indicted Wednesday on federal charges of defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Heisig, 6/18)
The Detroit Free Press: Medicare Fraud Sweep Indicts Six More Metro Detroit Docs
Six doctors, a social worker and a pharmacist are among 16 people charged in health care fraud and kickback schemes totaling more than $122 million in southeast Michigan, part of a nationwide crackdown, the federal prosecutor's office in Detroit announced today. The allegations include medical professionals submitting fraudulent claims for services that were medically unnecessary or not provided, referring non-homebound patients for home health care services, and more. (Allen, 6/18)
San Antonio Press Express: Investigation Of Health-Care Fraud In The Valley Spreads
Authorities in South Texas have made 16 arrests in recent weeks as part of a nationwide crackdown on health-care fraud, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said Thursday. The investigations in McAllen, Brownsville and Laredo involved a range of home health-care businesses and medical professionals complicit in defrauding the government out of nearly $8 million, officials said. (Nelsen, 6/18)
In other health care fraud news -
Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat: Covenant Hospice Settles $10 Million In Overcharges
Covenant Hospice Inc. agreed Thursday to pay out more than $10 million in government reimbursements for over billing Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid services in Florida and Alabama, according to the Department of Justice. The settlement by the nonprofit hospice care provider operating in South Alabama and the Florida Panhandle resolves allegations from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2010 that Covenant Hospice improperly submitted claims for general in-patient care that should have been billed at a different care level. (Etters, 6/19)
