All rights reserved. Ever since the U.S. Attorney General named health care fraud as the government's second highest priority after violent crime, the government has cracked down on health care fraud and abuse. Some of this crackdown has been needed. The extreme measures taken to curb health care abuse have raised eyebrows, however. The associations even went so far as to file suit to enjoin the government's actions.
Legislators also appear to question the government's tactics.
The House's proposed Health Care Claims Guidance Act would also institute a safe harbor for providers that relied on erroneous information provided by a federal agency and limit liability to cases in which the government alleges a material amount of damages. The Senate's version would cap penalties and offer a safe harbor for claims submitted based on a fiscal intermediary. Courts also express dissatisfaction with the government's methods. The U.S. Supreme Court characterized the fines imposed on one health care provider as grossly disproportionate. In another case, an appellate court chastised the government for its relentless pursuit of astronomical, unpayable fines.