Reducing Medicare Fraud, Waste & Abuse

The issue of health care fraud and abuse has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, primarily due to the fact that financial losses attributed to it are estimated to be billions of dollars each year. Based on the fact that the Medicare and Medicaid programs make up the largest single purchaser of health care in the world, and over 20% of all U.S. federal government spending, it is not surprising that these federal health programs have been considered prime targets for fraudulent activity. The government has an array of statutes that it may use to combat health care fraud. This book provides an overview of selected federal statutes, including program-related civil and criminal penalties, the anti-kickback statute, the Stark law, and the False Claims Act, that may be used to address fraud and abuse in federal health care programs.