Fed's healthcare investigators expand their crackdown on fraud

posted 5-5-97

The search for healthcare fraud is moving into high gear as the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general’s office opens six new fraud investigation sites this year and plans to establish a presence in most states by 2002.

There are already one or more branches of the inspector general’s office in 26 states, including Texas. New sites that recently opened or soon will open are Hartford, Conn.; Nashville, Tenn.; Des Moines, Iowa; Oklahoma City; Cleveland, and Columbia, S.C.

A national hot line number, (800) HHS-TIPS, is available for patients or healthcare professionals to report suspected cases of fraud in areas without a local inspector general’s branch office. The hot line has harvested some fruitful leads for fraud investigators, according to a spokesperson at the HHS’s inspector general’s office. One woman called to complain that her hospital bill totaled $31,317, for a visit to the hospital’s diabetes clinic for training on diet and sugar-monitoring equipment. The government recovered the full sum, billed to federal and state insurance plans, according to the spokesperson.

The Health Care Reform Act of 1996 appropriated funding for the establishment of the new HHS sites, including $70 million in 1997 for expansion of the inspector general’s anti-fraud efforts.

 

Related Site
Office of the Inspector General