OIG has collected nearly $3 billion in recoveries for criminal actions.
In late December, the Office of Inspector General (OIG), US Department of Health and Human Services, released a brief 2½ minute videohighlighting the year’s enforcement activities. It noted that there were 764 fraud-related criminal actions in 2018, 813 civil actions, and nearly $3 billion in expected recoveries. OIG calls these activities a “good investment” because they return four dollars to the government’s coffers for every dollar spent.
Other highlights from the year were:
- A coordinated, multi-agency shakedown of 601 defendants, including 165 medical professionals, on charges of $2 billion in false billing
- Release of a toolkit to calculate opioid levels and identify at-risk patients; opioid use is also the subject of numerous items in the OIG’s current Work Plan
- A $625 million settlement with AmerisourceBergen concerning fraudulent packaging of oncology drugs
- Congressional testimony on such topics as the food recall process, quality and safety in nursing homes, and the opioid crisis
This and other OIG videos and reports are helpful reminders for finance personnel, compliance officers, legal counsel, and others who assist in ensuring that their organizations abide by all legal requirements. Bookmark the OIG home page and visit it regularly for the latest information.
J. Stuart Showalter, JD, MFS, is a contributing editor for HFMA.
