Medicare Fraud

Mark Mandell

It takes nothing more than Googling the words “Medicare Fraud Strike Force” to realize our country has a growing problem; Medicare fraud.

Since their creation in early 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF) has placed charges on over 1,190 individuals who falsely billed the Medicare program for over $3.6 billion. MFSF operates in over nine districts, including Michigan where instances of Medicare fraud are far from rare.

In January, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a complaint against Universal Imaging, Inc., a Michigan company that fraudulently received over $1.56 million in Medicare kickbacks (accounting for over 90% of their business).

More recently in March, three Detroit-area clinic owners pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Estimates based off court documents suggest the three clinics billed Medicare for over $5.4 million during the course of their scheme. Each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

With dollar amounts easily climbing into the millions and no end in sight, Medicare fraud certainly deserves our attention.

To learn more please visit:

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/March/12-crm-323.html

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mie/news/2012/2012_01_06_universal_image.html