Eli's Rehab Report
HHS Turning Up The HEAT
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In the largest ever raid effected by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, 243 individuals were charged for approximately $712 million in false billing, according to a June 18 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) press release. The strike force is a part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT).
“In Tampa, five individuals were charged with participating in a variety of schemes, ranging from fraudulent physical therapy billings to a scheme involving millions in physician services and tests that never occurred,” says the release. Further, a licensed pain management physician allegedly never performed, but sought and reimbursement for nerve conduction studies and other services from Medicare amounting to over $1 million for these purported services.
Nine individuals in Brooklyn, N.Y., were charged in two separate criminal schemes involving physical and occupational therapy. In the first case, “three individuals face charges for their roles in a previously charged $50 million physical therapy scheme. In the second case, six defendants were charged for their roles in an $8 million physical and occupational therapy scheme,” the release added.
For further details, please see: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2015pres/06/20150618a.html.
Eli's Rehab Report
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