The Obama administration Monday reported record-breaking recoveries from health care fraud.
The Health and Human Services Department and the Justice Department recovered a record $4.2 billion in taxpayer dollars in 2012. They've recovered nearly $15 billion over the last four years, up from $6.7 billion over the prior four-year period.
The departments say the record recoveries are a result of President Obama making the elimination of fraud, waste and abuse in health care a top priority for the administration.
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In particular, it stems from the 2009 creation of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, a task force aimed at preventing fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs while also cracking down on individuals and entities that are abusing the system and costing American taxpayers billions of dollars.
HHS and the Justice Department also promise the efforts to reduce fraud will continue to improve with new tools and resources provided by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
For every dollar spent on health care-related fraud and abuse investigations in the last three years, the government recovered $7.90, according to the government report.
Attorney General Eric Holder says the report "demonstrates our serious commitment to prosecuting health care fraud and safeguarding our world-class health care programs from abuse."
"Our historic effort to take on the criminals who steal from Medicare and Medicaid is paying off: We are gaining the upper hand in our fight against health care fraud," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says. "This fight against fraud strengthens the integrity of our health care programs and helps us fulfill our commitment to our seniors."
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