Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have jointly announced the creation of a new fraud initiation called HEAT:  the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team.  The expansion of  the Medicare Strike Force team operations to Detroit and Houston was also announced.  Medicare Fraud Strike Forces are currently operating in South Florida and Los Angeles and have been enormously successful.

A new website Stop Medicare Fraud has also been revealed.

According to the website stopping those who perpetrate fraud includes:

• Continuing to utilize Strike Force teams that fight fraud in Miami and Los Angeles;
• Creating Strike Force teams in Detroit and Houston; and
• Helping State Medicaid officials conduct provider audits and monitor activities to detect fraudulent activities.
• Using modern technology to complete in a matter of days analysis of electronic evidence that previously took months to analyze using traditional investigative tools.
• Background on the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team
• Criminal Prosecution as a Deterrent to Health Care Fraud (PDF – 89 KB), Testimony of Lanny Breuer, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, 5/20/2009

The website will also be tracking fraud efforts as well as providing information to the public on how they can report suspected fraud.

Tags: CMS, OIG

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