Health Care Reform May Reduce Fraud

05/13/2010

Recent health care reform won't just provide opportunities to people with pre-existing medical conditions; it may also protect all policyholders from fraud, according to a recent release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice.

The departments are teaming up with the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services' new Center for Program Integrity to allocate fraud-fighting resources within the government-sponsored insurance programs. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will also strengthen partnerships with the private sector to reduce losses from fraud.

The HEAT Task Force will benefit from these efforts, gaining resources to strengthen its strategies in areas where health care fraud is prevalent like New York, South Florida, Texas, California, Louisiana and Michigan.

"The Affordable Care Act gives us new tools to fight fraud, protect consumers, and safeguard taxpayer dollars," Department of Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. "It strengthens our ability to stop fraud before it starts by making it harder to submit false claims and easier to catch those who try to cheat out consumers."

About $68 billion is lost to health care fraud annually, according to the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association.

ShareThis