Perhaps i am a prick but I think this is a very poor performance. 50 to 60 Billion a year in fraud and you just stopped 300 million? You won't get a medal from me.
BY JAY WEAVER
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Federal authorities early Friday charged 94 people with plotting to fleece $251 million from Medicare by filing phony claims with the taxpayer-funded healthcare program. Agents arrested 36 people.
The indictments were part of an orchestrated crackdown in five major U.S. cities that coincided with the nation's first healthcare fraud summit in Miami. The arrests, made by more than 350 agents for the Health and Human Services' inspector general's office and the FBI, marked the biggest takedown of Medicare fraud offenders since the federal program was started in 1965.
About 25 suspects, including longtime general practitioner Dr. Jorge J. Dieppa, were charged in Miami-Dade County for allegedly submitting about $103 million in fraudulent bills for home healthcare, HIV therapy and medical equipment services, according to federal indictments.
Federal agents attempted to arrest Dieppa at his home in Southwest Miami-Dade, but the doctor was not there. He is believed to be out of town on a cruise.
Dieppa, 56, whose practice is in Miami's Flagami neighborhood, is accused of receiving kickbacks for making hundreds of patient referrals to home healthcare agencies for costly diabetic services that were unnecessary.
Some 70 others were charged in Brooklyn, Baton Rouge, Detroit and Houston on a variety of charges, including bogus billing for physical and occupational therapy. The Detroit case involved three Miami healthcare operators accused of setting up clinics purportedly to treat HIV patients who either didn't receive the therapy or didn't need it.
The Brooklyn case was unusual for Medicare fraud probes because it entailed undercover agents and wiretaps used to penetrate an alleged Russian mob operation -- including recordings of a ``kickback'' room where the ringleader discussed paying bribes to patients and doctors, according to sources. A Soviet Union-era poster hanging in the bugged room warned visitors: ``The Walls Have Ears.''
To spotlight the significance of the sweep, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius joined Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer to announce the indictments and denounce Medicare fraud. They said the corruption not only costs the government program billions of dollars every year, but also that it undermines services for millions of Medicare patients.
``These criminals have siphoned resources from the most vulnerable among us,'' Holder said at Friday morning's news conference. ``Their actions have also helped to drive up healthcare costs nationwide.
``With today's arrests, we're putting would-be criminals on notice: Healthcare fraud is no longer a safe bet.''
Sebelius added: ``Today's arrests send a strong message that attempts to defraud Medicare will not be tolerated.''
Medicare fraud has gained prominence as the Obama administration pushes ahead with the expansion of government-subsidized healthcare for more than 30 million uninsured Americans. Miami has been a particular magnet for scorn because it has gained the dubious reputation as the nation's epicenter of healthcare corruption over the past decade.
The daylong healthcare fraud summit, being held Friday at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami, brings together government, industry, law enforcement and educational leaders to grapple with the controversial issue. The summit here is the first in a series, with others planned in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Detroit, Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/16/1733354/crackdown-nets-about-100-medicare.html#ixzz0u5ue4NnY