U.S. cracks down on healthcare fraud

During a healthcare fraud summit in Los Angeles, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said their agencies were jointly targeting fraud in the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs. They said the initiative, launched in May 2009, had so far produced more than 580 criminal convictions and recovered more than $2.5 billion in fraudulent proceeds.

"Our healthcare system is essentially under siege by criminals intent on lining their own pockets at the expense of the American taxpayers," Holder told the gathering of law enforcement officials, regulators, healthcare executives and others at Los Angeles City College. "In Los Angeles, these crimes have reached crisis proportions, driving up healthcare costs for everyone and also bringing the long-term solvency of our essential Medicare and Medicaid programs into doubt."