Obama crackdown on Health Care Fraud nets $4.1 Billion in 2011

Nearly $4.1 billion worth of health care scam funds was netted in nation-wide crackdowns by the Obama administration in 2011.

This was announced by officials Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Health and Human Services (HHS), and Attorney General Eric Holder at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday.

Fighting health care fraud in the US has become essential as more scams come to light. As a result, the administration needs to sharply increase federal control over the nation's health insurance system.

In the past three years, President Obama's administration has recovered funds amounting to an average of $3.6 billion per year in health care fraud. In contrast, an average of nearly $1.6 billion was recovered per year during President Bush's eight-year regime.

�These accomplishments reflect this administration's ongoing and intensive efforts to protect the American people and to safeguard precious taxpayer dollars,' Attorney General Holder said. �It is just one of the many ways this administration is working to help the American people at a time when budgets are tight,' he added.

'We are regaining the upper hand in our fight against health-care fraud,' Secretary Sebelius said. �It has never been harder to rip off Medicare and Medicaid, as it is today.'



Source: Medindia