The U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services healthcare fraud prevention and enforcement efforts recovered nearly $4.1 billion in taxpayer dollars during the 2011 fiscal year.
Approximately $2.4 billion was recovered through civil healthcare fraud cases brought under the False Claims Act. These cases included unlawful pricing by pharmaceutical manufacturers, illegal marketing of medical devices and pharmaceutical products for uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Medicare fraud by hospitals, and violations of laws against physician self-referral and kickbacks.
This sum represents the highest annual amount ever recovered from individuals, healthcare providers, and companies who stole or otherwise improperly obtained payments from federal healthcare programs, according to a statement.
Since January 2009, the date when the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) was created, more than $6.6 billion has been recovered through the False Claims Act.
Details were released on February 14 in the annual Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program report. Also on February 14, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a proposed rule aimed at recollecting overpayments made in the Medicare program.
