The HEAT Is on: Prepare Now for Enhanced Government Enforcement Efforts

Consistent with these messages, the government has announced repeatedly that it is significantly stepping up its enforcement efforts, which include:

• Recent revisions to the federal False Claims Act
  
• The onslaught of audits under the Medicaid Integrity Program and the permanent Recovery Audit Contractor program
  
• The formation of the cross-department Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT)
  
• The government’s active promotion of health care enforcement recoveries as the funding mechanism for additional costs under health care reform.

During this Friday Focus Web Conference, Foley Partners Judith A. Waltz and Cheryl L. Wagonhurst summarized the federal government’s recently enhanced enforcement efforts and provided substantive steps that health care entities should take to prepare for this increased government scrutiny.

Topics included:

• The government’s focus and targets in eliminating fraud and waste from the Medicare and Medicaid programs
  
• How data mining is and will continue to be used in the government enforcement efforts
  
• Five key steps that health care entities can take now in order to reduce their risks and prepare for the increased focus on operations and billing