The Importance of Medicare Fraud Attorneys
by Michael Khouri LawyerDue to recent crackdowns on Medicare fraud, an increasing number of people are finding themselves contacting Medicare fraud attorneys. These crackdowns began in 2009 with the creation of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, otherwise known as HEAT, and since then nearly 1,500 people have been arrested for the crime. This includes several coordinated arrests where government officials have raided businesses and taken documents by force, sometimes capturing more than 100 medical professionals at a time. For example, in early May of 2012, the government conducted a countrywide takedown and charged people in 7 different U.S. cities with fraud, resulting in 107 individuals in need of Medicare fraud attorneys. A year later, the government led another bust in which officials invaded businesses in Miami and Detroit, making 89 Medicare fraud accusations.
In addition to the establishment of HEAT and its associated Medicare Fraud
Strike Force, the government has cracked down on Medicare Fraud in other ways.
It has created tougher laws and harsher penalties, partnered with private
organizations such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and devised ways to use
technology to target possible fraud. This government zeal has resulted in a
veritable witch hunt in which many innocent people are likely to get burned.
Without Medicare fraud attorneys, many of these individuals will face five
years of prison and up to $25,000 in fines for each offense. Since penalties
for multiple offenses can be piled on top of each other, the effect could be a
$500,000 fine and life imprisonment. Only Medicare fraud attorneys can protect
the rights of the accused and prevent the scales from tipping overwhelmingly in
favor of the fraud organizations.
Government establishments are not the only reasons medical professionals may
require Medicare fraud attorneys, either. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services also provide financial incentives for private individuals to report
fraud, and the organization has recently proposed increasing these rewards to
as much as $9.9 million. The government has made it easier to detect and report
such fraud, providing patients with a Medicare Summary Notice and explaining
the process of checking for errors and informing Medicare of possible fraud.
Not only that, but CMS has increased its efforts to inform patients of whistle
blowing incentives, so more people are likely to dig for fraud out of greed.
This means that even a simple misunderstanding or an honest mistake could
result in a serious accusation and a call to Medicare fraud attorneys.
As these situations lead to skyrocketing fraud accusations, it is more
important than ever that practitioner fully understand Medicare fraud.
Unfortunately, this can be difficult for anyone but Medicare fraud attorneys
because the laws are constantly changing. One example of this is the Stark Act,
which makes it illegal for a doctor to refer Medicare patients to services in
which the physician may have a financial interest. Originally, physicians in a group
practice could refer patients to imaging services within their practice and
still be in compliance. In 2010, however, the act was changed to require these
practitioners to inform such patients in writing about alternative places to
obtain the services. These types of changes are becoming more and more common
with the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, making it now absolutely
essential that every member of the healthcare industry knows some good Medicare
fraud attorneys.
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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.