The Associated Press
Nov 24 2006

WASHINGTON — Whistle-blowers tipped off the government to $1.3 billion worth of fraud cases over the last year, largely at hospitals or other healthcare providers, the Justice Department said this week.

Whistle-blowers were paid $190 million over the year for alerting the government to the fraud. In all, the department recovered a record $3.1 billion in settlements from individuals and companies during the 2006 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

The largest settlement, worth $920 million, came against Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. Following claims from six whistle-blowers, prosecutors accused Tenet of overbilling the government for $806 million in Medicare payments and paying $49 million in kickbacks to doctors who referred patients to the chain.

Added: Nov 24, 2006 4:40 pm | Trackback URI |  Email This Post  | Print