In Budget Testimony, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein Includes Health Care Fraud Among DOJ Priorities
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appeared Tuesday morning before members of the Appropriations Subcommittees to present the President’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget for the Department of Justice. Among key funding priorities, he noted the Department’s dedication “to good stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” and pointed to combatting health care fraud as an example of efficient use of Department resources.
“The most recent projections show that the three-year average return on investment on health care fraud funding for the Department and HHS is $5 to every $1 invested. This is the type of stewardship that protects the vulnerable and provides significant returns to the American people.” The 2018 budget request dedicates $274.7 million to civil and criminal health care fraud enforcement, an increase of $24.9 million.
Prior administrations have similarly noted the high return on investment in combatting health care fraud. From January 2009 through the end of Fiscal Year 2016, the Department reported that it recovered $19.3 billion in health care fraud claims. The Department has noted the importance of whistleblowers in its overall efforts to combat fraud on the government. “Of the $4.7 billion the government recovered in fiscal year 2016, $2.9 billion related to lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.”
As for Fiscal Year 2018, other stated funding priorities include: “[e]nsuring the security of the country and safety of the American people;” “[c]ombatting violent crime and the opioid epidemic;” “[c]ombatting illegal entry and unlawful presence in the United States;” and “[p]romoting partnerships with state, local, and tribal entities.”
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