U.S. Attorney's Office Hosts Annual Meeting Of The Western District's Health Care Fraud Working Group

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced today the annual meeting of the Western District's Health Care Fraud Working Group, a partnership of federal and state agencies focused on combating health care fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars in the Western District of North Carolina.

The Health Care Fraud Working Group's mission is to collaborate to effectively uncover health care fraud schemes and hold accountable those who are responsible for the fraud. The Working Group is comprised of investigators, analysts, auditors, and attorneys from federal and state agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the North Carolina Attorney General's Medicaid Investigations Division, and the South Carolina Attorney General's Medicaid Recipient Fraud Unit.

At today's meeting, U.S. Attorney Ferguson recognized the contributions of partner agencies in the Western District's successful pursuit of criminal charges and civil claims against perpetrators of health care fraud in the district.

"Of the $5 trillion per year spent on healthcare in the United States, 45% is through government programs. That massive figure makes it hard to detect complex healthcare fraud; it simply cannot be done without strong partnerships and collaboration," said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. "But it is critical work-not just because we must protect taxpayer money, but because healthcare fraud increases medical costs and insurance premiums for everyone."

If you suspect Medicare or Medicaid fraud, please report it by phone at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477), or online at https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/

To report Medicaid fraud in North Carolina, call the North Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division at 919-881-2320 or fill out an online complaint form.

To report TRICARE fraud, contact the appropriate contractor identified at https://tricare.mil/PatientResources/ContactUs/ReportFraudAbuse

Fraud against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system can be reported at https://www.vaoig.gov/hotline.