Healthcare fraud prosecutions rising

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutions for healthcare fraud are up 85 percent from last year, U.S. Justice Department data shows.

The data, obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, shows the government has reported 903 new healthcare fraud prosecutions so far this year, more than the total number prosecuted last year.

The Southern District of Florida led the nation in activity, accounting for one out of every nine healthcare fraud prosecutions.

The Justice Department told USA Today the data includes a number of large cases, including one in February that involved 111 doctors, nurses and executives accused of falsely billing Medicare more than $225 million.

The increased prosecution rate is linked to a boost in the number of healthcare fraud investigators, as well as an FBI focus on criminal enterprises involving healthcare fraud, the newspaper said.