Medicaid Drug Fraud: Drug Diversion Schemes and "Pill Mills"A pill millÓ operates when physicians, clinic owners, & pharmacists collect to defraud Medicaid by prescribing & distributing drugs mainly to obtain reimbursement. Patients are often knowing participants in these schemes, allowing use of their Medicaid recipient numbers for billing purposes in exchange for cash, drugs, or other inducements. This report assesses the extent of the drug diversion problem, the reasons it persists, & what actions are being taken to bring it under control. Charts & tables. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 9
Page 2
... restitution . Individuals convicted of crimes involving Medicaid drug diversion are also subject to various civil sanctions.1 At the state level , the Medicaid agency may exclude them from the program for a period of time , and ...
... restitution . Individuals convicted of crimes involving Medicaid drug diversion are also subject to various civil sanctions.1 At the state level , the Medicaid agency may exclude them from the program for a period of time , and ...
Page 7
... restitution ordered by the courts , subsequent recovery efforts by state Medicaid agencies , and additional federal recoupment actions failed to offset likely program losses . For the most part , amounts recovered were nominal because ...
... restitution ordered by the courts , subsequent recovery efforts by state Medicaid agencies , and additional federal recoupment actions failed to offset likely program losses . For the most part , amounts recovered were nominal because ...
Page 17
... restitution over a set period of time . In exchange , no finding of guilt or innocence is entered into court records . 7 Exclusion from Medicaid — which took an average of 6 months following adjudication — occurred in 21 of the 39 cases ...
... restitution over a set period of time . In exchange , no finding of guilt or innocence is entered into court records . 7 Exclusion from Medicaid — which took an average of 6 months following adjudication — occurred in 21 of the 39 cases ...
Page 25
... restitution ordered by the courts , subsequent recovery efforts by state Medicaid agencies , and additional federal recoupment actions failed to offset likely program losses . For the most part , amounts recovered were nominal because ...
... restitution ordered by the courts , subsequent recovery efforts by state Medicaid agencies , and additional federal recoupment actions failed to offset likely program losses . For the most part , amounts recovered were nominal because ...
Page 26
... restitution are often a fraction of those ordered by the court ( a problem not unique to Medicaid fraud cases ) . In more than half the cases we examined , restitution amounts were nominal — amounting to $ 5,000 or less . Providers ...
... restitution are often a fraction of those ordered by the court ( a problem not unique to Medicaid fraud cases ) . In more than half the cases we examined , restitution amounts were nominal — amounting to $ 5,000 or less . Providers ...
Common terms and phrases
abused drugs action Appendix assets audit BCCI charges Civil Monetary Penalties CMPL Controlled Substances Controlled Substances Act court criminal curb defraud Medicaid Department of Justice detection Diversion Persists Divert Drugs drug benefit Drug diversion schemes Drug Enforcement Administration drug utilization review Economic Incentives enrollment EOMBS example Extent and Persistence False Claims Act federal agencies Federal Initiatives focused Fraud Control Units fraudulent HCFA health care fraud high-volume providers identify individuals Inspector involved Medicaid agencies Medicaid billings Medicaid drug diversion Medicaid Fraud Control Medicaid Prescription Drug Medicaid program Medicare MFCU officials middlemen million noncontrolled numbers obtained offenders organized network participants patient brokers percent Persistence of Medicaid pharmacies pharmacist pill mill prescribing physician Prescription Drug Diversion prescription drug fraud prescription forms probation problems professional sanctions program losses prosecution pursued pursuit recover losses referred Regional Office require Schedule II scrips state's suspect labs targeting Texas up-front controls Utilization Review York
Popular passages
Page 1 - At the federal level, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administers...
Page 42 - In the final analysis, the commitment and institutional support of the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Congress are all essential to the successful implementation of a departmental comprehensive integrated health care statistics strategy.
Page 8 - One key element of such a strategy might be the designation of a unit within HCFA responsible for (1) conducting continuing evaluations of state initiatives...
Page 2 - For example, some pharmacists routinely added medications to customers' orders, keeping the extras for themselves or to sell to others. Clinics inappropriately provided Medicaid recipients with completed prescription forms (scrips) that were then traded for merchandise from local pharmacies or sold on the street to the highest bidder. Some pills costing 50 cents at the pharmacy were resold for as much as $85.
Page 3 - The drug fraud took many forms, including pharmacists who routinely added medications to customers' orders, keeping the extras for themselves or to sell to others; clinics that inappropriately provided Medicaid recipients with completed prescription forms (scrips) that were then traded for merchandise from local pharmacies or sold on the street to the highest bidder; and typical pill mill schemes in which recipients, in exchange for abusable drugs, allowed physicians, pharmacies, and labs to use...
Page 2 - ... by the Health Care Financing Administration ("HCFA") in the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS").
Page 35 - Under the act controlled substances (narcotics and dangerous drugs) have been divided into five schedules on the basis of their potential for abuse, accepted medical use, and accepted safety under medical supervision. Substances included in schedule I are those with a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use, and a lack of accepted safety. Those in schedules II through V decrease in potential for abuse and increase in accepted medical use. The placement of a drug in any one of these schedules...
Page 1 - Medicaid, the largest government health program for the poor, is a logical target of drug diversion because it typically includes prescription drugs in its covered services. It accounts for 80 percent of all federal spending on prescription drugs. In 1991, prescription drugs accounted for 7 percent of Medicaid spending — more than physicians' services, more than any noninstitutional benefit provided by the program.
Page 32 - The Chairman of the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control testified...
Page 1 - In Florida and Texas, the recent rate of increase has been even greater, with expenditures more than doubling between 1987 and 1991.' The incentive to abuse the Medicaid drug benefit is considerable: some prescription drugs have psychological or physical effects similar to those of illicit drugs; others have substantial monetary value, and profiteers can divert them for resale through illicit channels. The pursuit of drug diversion...