Feds arrest several doctors, nurses in largest Medicare fraud bust ever
In the nation's biggest Medicare fraud bust on record, the FBI arrested 46 doctors and nurses for charging Medicare for patient care that was never given or necessary, reports CNN Money. More than 240 people were arrested in 17 cities for allegedly billing Medicare for $712 million.
In one case, a California doctor was charged for allegedly billing $23 million for 1,000 power wheelchairs and home health services that were not needed and usually not provided. And in a Florida case, a healthcare provider received $1.6 million from Medicare for prescription drugs that were never purchased and never used, said Attorney General Loretta Lynch in the article.
"In these cases, we followed the money and found criminals who were attracted to doctors offices, clinics, hospitals and nursing homes in search of what they viewed as an ATM," said FBI Director James B. Comey in the article.
Related article:
Miami SNF settles $17M fraudulent referrals case
CMS lays ground rules for provider screening, fingerprinting for fraud risk
Megan Combs was Associate Editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long Term Living from 2013-2018.
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Topics: Finance , Leadership , Medicare/Medicaid