The Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a multi-agency team of United States federal, state, and local investigators who combat

Medicare fraud In the United States, Medicare fraud is the claiming of Medicare health care reimbursement to which the claimant is not entitled. There are many different types of Medicare fraud, all of which have the same goal: to collect money from the Medicare ...

through data analysis and increased community policing. Launched in 2007, the Strike Force is coordinated by the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

and the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...

. It combines the data-analysis capabilities of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the investigative resources of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

, and the prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorneys' Offices. The Strike Force operates out of Baton Rouge,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and Tampa Bay. As of May 2013, the Strike Force has charged more than 1,500 people for false billings of more than $5 billion. Some cases investigated by the Strike Force include the following: * In June 2015, more than 240 individuals—including doctors, nurses, and other licensed professionals—were arrested for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $712 million in false billings. * In August 2015, a fake hospice nurse who treated more than 200 patients was sentenced to four years in prison. * In September 2015, a psychiatrist in Houston was convicted in a fraud scheme amounting to $158 million in a federal criminal trial in Houston, Texas. * In September 2016, two psychologists were convicted of

health-care fraud Health care fraud includes "snake oil" marketing, health insurance fraud, drug fraud, and medical fraud. Health insurance fraud occurs when a company or an individual defrauds an insurer or government health care program, such as Medicare (United ...

, having participated in a $25-million scheme that administered repeated and medically unnecessary tests to nursing-home residents in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. * In July 2017, Federal officials announced charges against more than 400 individuals—including doctors, nurses, and licensed medical professionals—for their roles in fraud schemes involving about $1.3 billion in false Medicare billings. *In April 2019, Federal officials broke up a scam involving

orthopedic brace Orthotics ( el, Ορθός, translit=ortho, lit=to straighten, to align) is a medical specialty that focuses on the design and application of orthoses, or braces. An is "an externally applied device used to influence the structural and functio ...

s and other

durable medical equipment Durable medical equipment is any medical equipment used in the home to aid in a better quality of living. It is a benefit included in many insurance policies and in some cases covered by Medicare benefits. The item is defined by Title XIX for Med ...

marketed through telemarketing, which doctors would then prescribe to patients regardless of whether they actually needed them. The scam was estimated to have cost Medicare over $1.2 billion. Twenty-four individuals were arrested in six states in connection with the scam.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States Medicare and Medicaid (United States) Medical and health organizations based in Washington, D.C.