MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Federal regulators last fiscal year secured $3.8 billion in settlements of whistleblower lawsuits, the 2nd-highest take in Justice Dept. history, surpassed only by the $5 billion recovered in 2012.
The vast majority of settlement dollars came from healthcare fraud cases, comprising about $2.6 billion, according to a DoJ report.
Officials have collected more than $2 billion per year for healthcare-related lawsuits for 4 straight years now, which regulators attributed to President Barack Obama’s focus on fighting health fraud. Combined efforts between the U.S. Attorney General’s Office and the Dept. of Health & Human Services collected $12.1 billion from January 2009 through the end of fiscal 2013.
"Of the $2. 6 billion in federal health care fraud recoveries, $1.8 billion were from alleged false claims for drugs and medical devices under federally insured health programs," according to the DoJ report.
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