It's National Report Health Care Fraud Week! - California Health Advocates

August 11, 2017 By Karen Fletcher

Did you know the 2nd week in August is National Report Health Care Fraud Week? It was founded by Whistleblower Advocate and Former Department of Justice Attorney, Joel D. Hesch with the purpose of showing the public how to get involved and even obtain a whistleblower reward for reporting Medicare fraud.

The official website ReportHealthCareFraudWeek.com provides step-by-step instructions for reporting both private health care fraud and Medicare fraud. You can also report fraud to our California Senior Medicare Patrol at 1-855-713-7080.

Here are a few facts about the Department of Justice (DOJ) reward program paying monetary rewards for reporting Medicare fraud:

Whistleblowers receive 15 to 30 percent of the amount DOJ recovers
The average Medicare fraud reward is $690,000
The highest reward is $150 million
DOJ has recovered $34 billion in Medicare fraud brought by whistleblowers
DOJ has paid over $4.75 billion in rewards
Three-fourths of the government’s fraud cases are DOJ whistleblower reward cases.

For more info, see the article, The 2nd Week in August is National Report Health Care Fraud Week.

About Karen Fletcher

Our blogger Karen J. Fletcher is CHA's publications consultant. She provides technical expertise, writing and research on Medicare, health disparities and other health care issues. With a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley, she serves in health advocacy as a trainer and consultant. See her current articles.

Do you have comments or concerns about your Medicare coverage? Issues regarding getting your needed prescriptions from your Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan representative's marketing practices? Let us know at comments@cahealthadvocates.org.

We are dedicated to making Medicare's program work well for all beneficiaries. Your feedback from your own or your client's concerns and experiences with Medicare, will guide our Medicare advocacy efforts with key policy and decision-makers in both California and nationally with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Congress.