Daniel Suarez, 24, was sentenced earlier this month to nine years in prison following his guilty plea to healthcare fraud and abuse charges. According to the Miami Herald, Suarez, a pharmacy technician, was involved in a family ring of Medicare fraud that involved submitting false claims to Medicare for prescription drugs. Medicare has been a victim of extensive fraud and abuse over the years, resulting in a greatly enhanced regulatory environment that, unfortunately, burdens all healthcare providers, honest and dishonest.
Georgia Business and Healthcare Law Firm
The Medicare Program is funded by federal dollars and provides benefits and services for free (or low cost) to about 40 million elderly, blind or disabled, known as Medicare “beneficiaries.” Medicare has several different programs referred to as “parts.” The Medicare Part D Program subsidizes the cost of prescription drugs needed by Medicare beneficiaries. Beneficiaries enroll in Medicare drug plans, operated by private entities known as “sponsors” (insurers), which pay pharmacies for the beneficiary’s drugs and are, in turn, reimbursed by the Medicare Program.
Creative schemes to bilk the Medicare Program have been rampant. Healthcare fraud and abuse continue to cost the federal taxpayer staggering sums of money and, for that and other important reasons, remain a top priority of federal law enforcement. The federal government, through the United States Department of Health & Human Services/Office of Inspector General (OIG) and other federal law enforcement agencies, utilizes numerous methods to identify, combat and prosecute healthcare fraud. According to the OIG, as of September 20, 2015, $1.8 billion has been recovered by the federal government in healthcare fraud and abuse actions.