Federal healthcare fraud prosecutions have dropped precipitously since last year and could be on pace for the lowest rate in nearly two decades, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a data research organization at Syracuse University.
Based on data from the first six months of fiscal year 2016, healthcare fraud prosecutions are expected reach 478 by the end of the year, a 23 percent drop from FY 2015 and a 61 percent decline from five years ago. If the projections hold true, it would be the lowest rate of healthcare fraud prosecutions reported by the Department of Justice since 1998.
Through March, the Southern District of Florida reported the highest rate of healthcare fraud convictions with 9.8 per one million people. The Eastern District of Missouri was close behind with 9.6. The projected national average for 2016 is 1.5 per one million people.
False Claims Act recoveries within the healthcare industry dropped slightly last year, but whistleblowers are still the driving force behind most claims. A recent report showed that penalties levied against the pharmaceutical industry are down 72 percent since 2013.
To learn more:
- here's the TRAC report