On Saturday, October 15th, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services celebrated its 40th anniversary! On that date in 1976, then-United States President, Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-505 which created HHS OIG. Its mission was and still is to protect the integrity of HHS programs as well as the health and welfare of program beneficiaries.
For the past 40 years, OIG has been an integral mainstay in the country’s fight against waste, fraud and abuse of Medicare, Medicaid and the more than 100 other HHS programs. As the largest inspector general’s office in the Federal Government, HHS OIG employs over 1,600 employees who work in more than 70 offices across the nation. The entire team, here at Allegiant Experts, commends their dedication to combating fraud, waste and abuse.
We’d like to extend our deepest gratitude and warmest wishes to HHS OIG on the celebration of their 40th anniversary. We don’t believe that enough is said about their work to protect the best interests of our nation’s citizens. When Medicare and Medicaid are abused, it greatly impacts those who are deserving of medical insurance. Our nation’s most vulnerable citizens deserve a lot better than to have these programs become regular victims of fraud.
“We carry out our mission using a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach, with each of our six components playing a vital role,” reads the OIG’s explanation of what they do on their website, “A nationwide network of audits, investigations, and evaluations results in timely information as well as cost-saving or policy recommendations for decision-makers and the public. That network also assists in the development of cases for criminal, civil and administrative enforcement.”
A recently-released infographic celebrating OIG’s 40th anniversary provides some pretty interesting information about the oversight division. It reveals that OIG is charged with overseeing almost $1 trillion dollars in HHS spending, which is about equivalent to a quarter of every federal dollar spent. Thankfully, their fights have proven fruitful. They have recovered $6.10 for every dollar that has been spent fighting health care fraud.
In the first half of fiscal year 2016, OIG reported over $2.77 billion in expected recoveries, 428 criminal actions against individuals or entities that have engaged in crimes against HHS programs and 383 civil actions. These actions include CMP settlements, false claims and unjust enrichment lawsuits. OIG also reports $20.6 billion in estimated savings for fiscal year 2015 that have resulted from actions linked to their report recommendations.
We’d like to reiterate our both our congratulations and our thanks to OIG for 40 years of fighting fraud, waste and abuse. The Allegiant Experts team is inspired to continue its work in fighting fraud, waste and abuse in the court system. Our clinical experts are ready, willing and eager to assist attorneys with their litigations against those who commit health insurance fraud.
For more information about how we may be able help your case, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 407-217-5831.
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