Doctors, Nurses Charged In Rehab Fraud
The government charged more than 100 doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals for fraud connected to substance abuse treatment facilities, sober homes, and illegal opioid distribution schemes.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced an action involving 245 defendants in 51 federal districts.
According to the complaints, the defendants submitted more than $6 billion in false and fraudulent claims to federal health care programs and private insurers.
- $4.5 billion connected to telemedicine
- $845 million connected to substance abuse treatment facilities, or sober homes
- $806 million connected to other health care fraud and illegal opioid distribution schemes across the country
“The opioid epidemic our country is battling is exacerbated when unscrupulous individuals seek to profit from people. In particular, those confronting addiction,” said DEA Assistant Administrator McDermott. “When doctors, pharmacists, and individuals exploit the weakness of a fellow human being in order to line their own pockets, DEA will use every tool at its disposal to stop and bring them to justice.”
Unnecessary Testing and Medications
Among those charged are:
- physicians, owners, and operators of substance abuse treatment facilities
- patient recruiters (referred to in the industry as “body brokers”).
Officials claim the defendants paid kickbacks and bribes in exchange for patient referrals. They also allegedly prescribed unnecessary controlled substances and other medications to patients. In some cases, the drugs were meant to entice patients to stay at the facility.
Patients were subjected to medically unnecessary drug testing. Facilities often billed thousands of dollars for a single test and for therapy sessions that were frequently not provided.
The patients were then often discharged and admitted to other treatment facilities, or referred to other laboratories and clinics, in exchange for more kickbacks.
National Rapid Response Strike Force
The Department of Justice also announced the creation of a new unit. The National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Health Care Fraud Unit is intended to combat the problem of health care fraud.