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The Justice Department on Friday announced criminal charges against 42 medical professionals and nearly 100 others for suspected healthcare fraud with alleged losses of $ 1.4 billion.
The indicted cases include telemedicine services as part of the fraud, which alone accounted for approximately $ 1.1 billion in alleged losses from false and fraudulent claims. Telemedicine uses communication technology to remotely assess and treat patients.
The telemedicine cases built on law enforcements launched in 2019 and 2020 on allegations of charging Medicare for fraudulent genetic cancer tests and telemedicine executives who paid doctors and others to do so unnecessarily ordering long-lasting medical equipment, diagnostic tests, and medication, either without actually interacting with patients or making a quick phone call to those who have never met or seen them.
The other indicted schemes, announced on Friday, concerned fraud that took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic or drug abuse treatment facilities known as “sober houses” and opioid distribution networks.
“We’re stopping corrupt health professionals,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. of the Department of Justice’s Department of Criminal Investigation told reporters during a briefing on the case.
The DOJ said 23 doctors were among the 138 accused in the cases. The cases are being prosecuted by 31 US attorneys across the country.
Polite found that opioid-related overdoses killed a “record number of Americans, nearly 70,000” in the past year, and that total drug overdose deaths rose by more than 30%, with 90,000 deaths in 2020.
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Nineteen people have been charged with opioid fraud by the DOJ, including 16 doctors or other health professionals.
“Holding those responsible for healthcare fraud and prescription drug diversion accountable is a priority for DEA,” said Anne Milgram, DEA administrator.
“These fraudulent activities prey on our weakest – those in pain, drug addicts, and even the homeless – those who are most vulnerable to promises of relief, recovery, or a fresh start,” said Milgram.
“These plans not only benefit from desperation, but often leave their victims deeper in the addiction.”
