Federal government, insurers partner in fight against health fraud

HHS and private insurance companies will share raw data and investigations to try to stop billions of dollars in fraud.

The Associated Press: Gov't Stepping Up Fight Against Health Care Fraud
Stepping up their game against health care fraud, the Obama administration and major insurers announced Thursday they will share raw data and investigative know-how on a scale not previously seen to try to shut off billions of dollars in questionable payments. At a White House event with insurance executives, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the new public-private partnership will allow government programs and the insurance industry to take the high ground against scam artists constantly poking the system for weaknesses (Smith and Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/26).

NPR: Feds And Health Insurers Partner To Fight Fraud
The Obama administration is enlisting new allies to fight health care fraud: insurers. Today the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice announced a partnership with more than a dozen health insurers and industry groups to nip fraudulent schemes in the bud, instead of tracking down bad guys after the fact (Rovner, 7/26).

USA Today: Companies, Government To Share Health Info
In the past, privacy laws have prevented such a partnership, but the Department of Health and Human Services and the insurers will scrub out patients' personal information from the bills to address privacy concerns. They can then look for fraud trends and use those to stop recurrences (Kennedy, 7/26).

Reuters: Government Signs On Insurers To Fight Health Care Fraud
Speaking from the White House at a table surrounded by leaders from many of the country's biggest health insurers, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder launched the new initiative, which builds on past efforts to root out crimes that cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars every year (Ebrahim, 7/26).

Medpage Today: HHS, Private Groups Team Up In Fraud Fight
The partnership will allow public and private groups to share information as well as best practices to help detect fraud and prevent payment of fraudulent bills, HHS said in a statement, noting that the goal is to stop health care scams that "cut across a number of public and private payers" (Frieden, 7/26).