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Federal prosecutions for health care fraud are skyrocketing, on track to rise by 85% by the end of the year, according to a report.
In the first eight months of 2011, the government launched 903 health care fraud prosecutions, according to an analysis of U.S. Dept. of Justice data by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, a data gathering and research organization at Syracuse (N.Y.) University. In 2010, the number of health care fraud prosecutions totaled 731.
The high number stems from a series of large-scale investigations by the FBI and the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team. In Puerto Rico alone, 420 people were charged with health care fraud in 2011, TRAC research shows. Among the 50 states, Florida led the nation in fraud activity, accounting for one out of every nine health care fraud prosecutions.
David Burnham, TRAC's co-director, said it appears the government is making special efforts to combat health care fraud....Burnham pointed out, however, that a surge in health care fraud arrests and charges does not necessarily mean an
increase in crime. "There is no way for the government to actually measure the extent of medical fraud in any city or the whole United States," he said in an email.
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