Dozens arrested as feds target Medicare fraud in Florida
Healthcare Auditing Weekly, May 15, 2007
The federal government has already made multiple arrests as it cracks down on Medicare fraud in southern Florida, the Washington Post reports.
As of May 10, the tally of arrests relating to Medicare fraud stood at 38.
Officials arrested Eduardo Moreno, who owned several medical-equipment firms, for billing Medicare for more than $1.9 million in unnecessary services, including "powered pressure-reducing air mattresses" that cost $868.85 each, according to the Post.
Also arrested were Barbara Diaz and Jose Prieto, who charged Medicare $900,000 for anesthetics and other drugs infused into patients' bloodstreams when the patients did not need the medicine.
The arrests are attributed to the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a new partnership between the Department of Justice, HHS, and the FBI. Officials said they expect to expand their investigation beyond southern Florida in the months ahead. Leavitt said the government could save as much as $2.5 billion by cracking down on the fraud, the Post reports.
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