Baton Rouge, Louisiana Medicare Fraud Lawyers

Medicare and Health Care Fraud Legal Defense Serving all of Louisiana

With rising health care costs and increased scrutiny from taxpayers regarding government spending, there has been an increased focus on the Medicare program and Medicare fraud prevention. As a large number of both state and federal organizations crackdown on health care fraud, many physicians, dentists, medical equipment vendors, HMOs, laboratories, and others in the health care field are finding themselves in the midst of Medicare fraud investigations.

At The Criminal Defense Firm, we are committed to helping both individuals and organizations fight Medicare fraud investigations and charges in Baton Rouge and across the state of Louisiana. We use a specially developed “Emergency Defense Package” to help each of our clients, an emergency protocol designed to instantly address client’s needs and concerns when facing criminal prosecution.

To learn more about how we can help, please call us to schedule an appointment.

Medicare Fraud In Louisiana

In 2015, Louisiana tallied almost 800,000 Medicare beneficiaries as well as over 12,300 licensed and practicing physicians. It is no surprise that, based on the numbers, Medicare fraud happens, often with results that are harmful or unfair to patients as well as harmful to government health care programs and budgets.

In Baton Rouge, Medicare fraud investigations are bolstered by the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), which was created by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) in order to stem dishonest billing, health care scams, and other illegal issues. The Baton Rouge HEAT task force was developed and launched in 2009 and is one of nine active task forces in the country.

The Baton Rogue HEAT task force has the following goals:

• To coordinate government organizations to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program.
• To crack down on the people and organizations who engage in health care fraud and recover taxpayer dollars.
• To reduce health care costs and improve the general quality of health care by preventing fraudulent billing, schemes, and scams.
• To highlight best practices regarding Medicare billing and reimbursement for health care providers.

Understanding Allegations Of Louisiana Medicare Fraud

Medicare fraud is the collection of Medicare health care reimbursements under false pretenses by individuals and organizations. The following people and entities may face Medicare fraud investigation or Medicare fraud charges:

• Doctors
• Dentists
• Nurses
• Medical facility administrators
• HMOs
• Hospitals
• Home health care centers
• Hospice care centers
• Nursing homes and assisted living facilities
• Rehabilitation centers
• Registered care facilities
• Pharmacies
• Medical device and supply vendors
• Toxicology laboratories
• Medical devices companies
• Medical supply companies
• Physician syndications
• DNA testing centers
• Cancer treatment centers
• Durable medical equipment companies

Medicare fraud can take many forms, from making prohibited referrals for certain designated health services to knowingly soliciting remuneration to induce or reward referrals for items or reimbursed by federal health care programs. The most common types of Medicare fraud committed by practitioners and organizations include:

• Billing for services that weren’t performed or unnecessary services.
• Billing for medically unnecessary supplies or supplies that were never ordered.
• Billing for services that are not covered by Medicare as services that are covered.
• False invoicing.
• Certification for services or supplies that were medically unnecessary
• Double Billing, upcoding, and bill inflation.
• The offering or accepting of kickbacks or bribes.

There are four levels of improper medicare payments. Each level is an issue that should be dealt with, and each level comes with increasingly serious consequences for the violator:

• Billing mistakes. Billing mistakes happen to everyone, especially in large practices or organizations. A billing error may be an isolated event or a mistake that occurs repeatedly because of a misunderstanding, a staff training error, or an issue with your billing system.

• Billing inefficiencies. Billing inefficiencies can be extremely wasteful and harmful, even if they are not intentional. Again, billing inefficiencies are usually the result of issues with staff, the billing system, or the understanding of the Medicare program.

• Bending billing rules. Bending the rules of the Medicare billing system is considered abuse and is heavily frowned upon. Bending Medicare rules takes advantage of the honor system and could result in civil or criminal charges as well as consequences that include retribution and fines.

• Billing fraud. Billing fraud is intentionally deceptive and illegal. Billing fraud related to Medicare can carry heavy fines, long prison terms, and other significant consequences.

The Best Defenses Against Medicare Fraud

You may feel hopeless, overwhelmed, and helpless when you discover that you or your organization is being investigated or audited for Medicare fraud. The Criminal Defense Firm is here to take control during this process to make certain that you know your rights and understand your position as quickly as possible. We suggest taking the following steps during a Medicare fraud case:

• Take audits seriously. In some cases, simple audits can lead to criminal charges, especially if the audits are not handled with care and consideration. You may need the assistance of an attorney with a history of health care law experience to guide you through this process.

• Act quickly. If you or your organization is being audited for Medicare fraud, the more quickly you act, the better ground you will be standing on. Our legal team mobilizes immediately after taking a case so that we will have the most information possible as quickly as possible, increasing the charges of avoiding charges, minimizing charges, or getting charges dismissed.

• Conduct your own investigation. Collect witness testimony, documents, and other evidence that supports and bolsters your case. For example, you may be able to collect evidence that the billing errors were not intentional or find a lack of evidence of fraud. Again, the sooner that this process can take place, the stronger your case will be.

• Hire an experienced and knowledgeable attorney. Fraud investigations are conducted by serious and knowledgeable experts. You should have someone on your side with as much experience and information as they do. Hiring an attorney with specific experience handling Medicare fraud cases is key, as is hiring an attorney who has experience in the courtroom.

Medicare Fraud Defense Attorneys

At the heart of our law group is our knowledgeable, experienced, and compassionate Medicare fraud attorneys, each of which bring a diverse legal background, a wealth of information, and experience in the courtroom to the table.

The Criminal Defense Firm: Medicare Fraud Case Results

Perhaps nothing speaks louder about our knowledge, experience, and ability to execute than our selected care results regarding Medicare fraud. Below, browse some of our recent cases, none of which resulted in civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of Medicare laboratory against investigations by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for alleged Medicare Fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a health care services company against an investigation by the Office of Inspector General, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services for alleged False Claims Act and Stark Law violations.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of Medicare laboratory against investigations by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Inspector General for alleged Health Care Fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of nationally operating health care company against an investigation by the Department of Defense for alleged Tricare fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of health care marketing company against an investigation by the Office of Inspector General for alleged False Claims Act and Medicare violations.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a laboratory against an investigation by various branches of the federal government for alleged fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of physician-owned entity against an investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services for alleged Stark Law violations.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a physician-owned entity against an investigation by the Office of Inspector General for alleged fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a physician-owned entity against an investigation by the Department of Justice for alleged fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a physician-owned entity against an investigation by the Office of Inspector General for alleged Stark Law violations.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a physician-owned entity against an investigation by the Office of Inspector General for alleged False Claims Act violations.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a physician-owned entity against an investigation by various branches of the federal government for alleged False Claims Act, Stark Law, and Medicare violations.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a physician-owned entity against an investigation by the Office of Inspector General for alleged fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a physician-owned entity against an investigation by the Department of Defense for alleged Tricare fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of a physician-owned entity against an investigation by the Department of Justice for alleged Medicare Fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of physician-owned entity against an investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services for alleged Stark Law violations.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of health care management organization against an investigation by the Office of Inspector General, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services for alleged Medicare Fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

• Defense of nationally operating laboratory against an investigation by the Office of Inspector General for alleged fraud.
  Result: No civil or criminal liability.

Contact The Criminal Defense Firm For A Private Consultation

One of the most effective actions you can take when being investigated for Louisiana Medicare Fraud is intervening early with your own legal team. Within hours of signing on with you, we will work towards taking your investigation head on and securing you or your organization the best possible outcome based on the details of your case.

To learn more about our law group or our legal services, or to schedule a meeting with one of our Medicare fraud attorneys, please call us today, seven days a week.

This information has been prepared for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This information may constitute attorney advertising in some jurisdictions. Reading of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee similar future outcomes. The Criminal Defense Firm is a Texas firm with headquarters in Dallas.