ATTORNEY GENERAL/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPT/LEGAL: “The Justice Department on Thursday [7-13-17] announced charges against 412 people for $1.3 billion in health-care fraud, the largest such takedown in U.S. history.
Many of the charges were related to doctors unnecessarily prescribing opioids, which then ended up on sale on the street, the department said. One fake rehab facility in Palm Beach, Fla., recruited addicts with gift cards, drugs and trips to casinos and strip clubs and then billed insurance companies for $58 million in false treatments and tests, according to the charges. In Texas, a doctor and clinic owner are accused of accepting $300 cash per patient for unnecessary hydrocodone prescriptions.
These cases highlight ‘the enormity of the fraud challenge we face,’ Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a news conference. ‘The problem is compounded by the fact that our country is in the midst of the deadliest drug crisis in our history.’
Of those charged, 56 were doctors and 120 cases were related to opioids, according to the Justice Department. Some falsely billed Medicare and Medicaid. Arrests have been made across the country from Detroit and Miami to Los Angeles and Chicago, according to prosecutors.”
-Renae Merle, “DOJ announces charges against 400 people for $1.3 billion in health-care fraud,” The Washington Post online, July 13, 2017 11:43am