Logo
  • Home
  • Press Releases

Fighting Fraud When Congress Can’t Agree on Funding Government

10/04/2013 // Justice News Flash: Featured Column // Kathleen Scanlan // (press release)

In the battle to combat healthcare fraud, the federal government has historically used a “pay and chase” model—reimbursing claims and asking questions later. This model has provided ample opportunity for swindlers of all stripes to pilfer the government largesse. “Think of the Medicare program as a bank that never bothered to buy a safe,” cracked a writer for the LA Weekly in April. “Everyone from HMOs to drug dealers has been caught robbing it time and time again, stealing the kind of money that makes the sequester look like pocket change.”

While it has had a reputation for not being especially proactive on fraud, the federal government started fighting back harder recently. Task forces, strike forces, action teams, and government auditors have been chasing down fraudsters and grabbing back larger amounts for the federal coffers. It seems that not a week goes by without a press release announcing a takedown restoring millions to the U.S. Treasury. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) claims their investigations return $8 for every $1 of agency funding and that $10.7 billion has been recovered since 2009. So what happens when the federal government, in its infinite wisdom, cuts the $1 of agency funding that yields $8 in return?

In June the OIG announced that it was scaling back numerous health care fraud investigations, including investigations into Medicaid fraud and abuse, marketing unapproved drugs to Medicare patients, and sham suppliers of durable medical equipment. That’s right. The OIG is dropping 200 employees this year and plans to lose another 200 by the end of 2015—about 20 percent of its current workforce. The extreme downsizing is due to a confluence of factors, including sequestration cuts and expiring stimulus funding and Bush-era appropriations.

In fact, the OIG’s ranks have been so heavily culled that the office has shunned investigating more than 1,200 individual complaints of wrongdoing. Now, in September, Washington is poised for yet another government shutdown as Congress cannot reach compromise (again) on federal spending. Restoring OIG’s fraud fighting unit seems like a pipe dream. Clearly, whatever the “pay and chase” model’s success, it is far too vulnerable to the whims of Washington’s politically-charged funding cycles to put a dent in the hundreds of billions yearly in fraud.

But there’s another model for fighting fraud when Congress can’t agree on funding. It’s more than 150 years old. It’s the False Claims Act. Incentivizing people with information about a fraud on the government to bring cases in the name of the government is less susceptible to the political winds that blow through Washington. To boot, the FCA has returned more than $50 billion to state and federal governments with civil and related criminal penalties, particularly in healthcare, where about 80 percent of recoveries are centered. It’s efficient too. The federal government is getting back better than 15:1 counting federal civil recoveries alone compared to the OIG’s 8:1 yield (before its budget got slashed). If taxpayers don’t want to pay for fraud but Congress doesn’t want to fund government enforcement, whistleblowers are the fiscally responsible alternative.

Media Information:

Address:
Phone: 866-598-1315
Url: False Claims News

It's only fair to share...Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Email this to someone
email
Print this page
Print
Tags: federal government, fraud investigations, government auditors, government shutdown
October 15, 2013   vision
whistleblower federal government, fraud investigations, government auditors, government shutdown
×

  • Child Passenger Safety Statistics You Should Know
  • Advomas Responds to ACA Process Challenges with Launch of “AdvoSure”
Categories
  • Arabic PR
  • Art
  • Auto News
  • aviation news
  • Bollywood News
  • BP OIL Spill News
  • Business
  • California
  • Call Center News
  • Copyright Law
  • Dallas News
  • e-commerce
  • Education
  • Electronics
  • Employment Law
  • Entertainment
  • Family law
  • Fashion
  • Food & Beverage
  • golf news
  • Green
  • Health & Fitness
  • Hollywood News
  • home decor
  • insurance
  • iPhoneNews
  • Law
  • Media News
  • Medical News
  • Mesothelioma Asbestos
  • military-news
  • Money & Finance
  • music news
  • new york
  • New York City
  • News
  • Noticias en español
  • Opinions
  • Personal Finance
  • Personal Injury Law News
  • Press Releases
  • Real Estate
  • Religious News
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • Social Media News
  • Social Responsibility
  • South Florida News
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top Stories
  • travel
  • UK Press Release
  • US Presidential News
  • VoIP News
  • Weather
  • Web Technology
  • Weddings
  • whistleblower
  • World News
Recent Posts

Whichcooker.com Exceeds 500 Reviews of Cooking Appliances

January 21, 2021, Comments Off on Whichcooker.com Exceeds 500 Reviews of Cooking Appliances

Premier Houston Roofing Contractor, Integris Roofing, Is Extending Services to Houston Metro with a New Website Design

January 18, 2021, Comments Off on Premier Houston Roofing Contractor, Integris Roofing, Is Extending Services to Houston Metro with a New Website Design

Free Psychic Reading Online Via Live Chat, Phone Call or Video By The Best Online Love Psychics Reading Experts

January 18, 2021, Comments Off on Free Psychic Reading Online Via Live Chat, Phone Call or Video By The Best Online Love Psychics Reading Experts
Tags
asbestos Business California cancer clean air solutions clouse dunn khoshbin Dallas dallas employment death economy Education employment law attorney Employment Lawyer employment lawyers facebook Florida google government Health Hollywood insurance jonathan c reiter Lawsuit lawyer marketing Los Angeles marketing mesothelioma mortgage new york New York City nfm lending Obama Parcel2Go president Real Estate recession Search Engine Optimization SEO social media study Texas texas employment Twitter U.S. Washington
News Tags >>

  • Our News on Google News
  • Yahoo News
  • Writing a Press Release
  • Press Release Distribution Services
  • A Sample Press Release Template
  • Social Media News Distribution
  • Search Engine Optimized Press Release
  • Online News Distribution Benefits
  • Dallas News
  • Latest Press Releases
  • Lawyer Press Release Service
  • News on Major online news sites
  • Press Release Service WiredPRNew.com
Copyright © 2021 WiredPRNews.com