HHS' Office of Inspector General recovered $1.8 billion from healthcare providers and programs in the first six months of fiscal 2015, according to the OIG's Semiannual Report to Congress.
Here are five takeaways from the OIG's report.
1. In the first half of fiscal 2015, the OIG reported 486 criminal actions against individuals who participated in crimes against HHS.
2. The OIG reported 326 civil actions, including false claims and unjust enrichment lawsuits, in the first half of FY 2015.
3. The OIG reported exclusions of 1,735 individuals and entities from participation in federal healthcare programs in the first half of fiscal 2015.
4. The report highlighted the achievements of the Medicare Fraud Task Force teams, which are a key component of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team — a program started in 2009 by HHS and the Department of Justice to strengthen programs and invest in new resources and technologies to prevent and combat healthcare fraud, waste and abuse. During the first half of fiscal 2015, Strike Force efforts resulted in the filing of charges against 69 individuals or entities and $163 million of investigative receivables.
5. About $142 million of the $1.8 billion in investigation receivables were in non-HHS matters, resulting from the OIG's work in areas such as Medicaid restoration.
More articles on healthcare fraud:
CMS plans new fraud-tracking website
High court ruling could cause surge in healthcare whistle-blower lawsuits
23 Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law and False Claims issues and thoughts