Fraud, anti-kickback penalties to double

Fraud penalties for healthcare providers and others will soon likely double, according to an interim final rule published in the Federal Register. Penalties for each false claim submitted to a government program, such as Medicare, will rise to a minimum of $10,781 from a current minimum of $5,500 under the False Claims Act. The maximum would rise to $21,563 per claim from a current maximum of $11,000. It’s not unusual for thousands of claims to be at issue in a False Claims Act case, leading to the possibility of total potential penalties in the millions and even billions of dollars. According to the rule, penalties for violations of the Anti-Kickback law will also rise from $11,000 to $21,563.