The U.S. Attorney's Office in South Carolina is adding more resources to combat healthcare fraud, reports The Post and Courier.
Five things to know:
1. Sherri Lydon became South Carolina's first female U.S. attorney in May.
2. Since then, her office has increased its focus on healthcare fraud cases, such as those involving the False Claims Act. Ms. Lydon told The Post and Courier her office will also add another attorney and an analyst this year. This means six attorneys in her office will be devoted to healthcare fraud cases.
3. Ms. Lydon said of the efforts: "Our office has consistently been a leader among the 93 districts across the country in recovering money lost to fraud or other misconduct. These cases are a major priority in our office."
4. Ms. Lydon is not the first South Carolina U.S. attorney to prioritize healthcare fraud. According to the report, a former U.S. Attorney in the state, Bill Nettles, hired five additional attorneys devoted to healthcare fraud and said his office won about $100 million in settlements or judgments, primarily from such cases. Mr. Nettles left the U.S. Attorney's Office for private practice in 2016.
5. Last year, the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Carolina was involved in the Justice Department's recovery of $2.4 billion from healthcare fraud cases.
Access the full report here.
More articles on legal & regulatory issues:
Thieves steal 300-pound aluminum coils from Ohio hospital
Court dismisses Chicago hospital's defamation lawsuit against Leapfrog
Judge approves Anthem's $115M data breach settlement