Chicago, Blue Cross Blue Shield to team on health care fraud task force

Chicago officials will team with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois on a new health care fraud task force.

The Associated Press: City, Blue Shield Team Up On Detecting Fraud
Chicago officials are teaming up with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois on health care fraud detection and prevention. A task force will be made up of representatives of the city and the health insurer. Members will work to assess potential health care fraud and instances of wasteful spending (8/14).

And two men -- a dentist in New York and a home health care provider in Virginia -- admit to Medicaid fraud --

The Associated Press/Wall Street Journal: Brooklyn Dentist Admits Fraud In Medicaid Probe
New York authorities say a Brooklyn dentist has pleaded guilty to fraud, admitting he paid recruiters to solicit homeless Medicaid patients with cash. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli say dentist Lawrence J. Bruckner of Plainview has also admitted failing to pay taxes on payments he received from other dentists who worked at his clinics (8/13).

The Associated Press/Sacramento Bee: Man Pleads To Health Care Fraud In VA
A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty to a health care fraud charge. Thirty-one-year-old Joseph T. Hackett of Asheville entered the plea Monday in federal court in Richmond. Federal prosecutors say Hackett owned Richmond-based Access Regional Taskforce, which contracted with Medicaid to provide in-home mental health services for youth and adolescents. Hackett was accused of collecting money from Medicaid for services that didn't meet the criteria for reimbursement (8/14).