Fraud in the medical industry unquestionably spells top-tier subject matter in the criminal law realm these days. Seemingly, stories in Michigan and nationally surface daily regarding alleged schemes and manipulations aimed at fleecing American taxpayers through fraudulent Medicare billings and other actions.
In some instances, the facts seem clear enough. There are bad actors in every industry, and those people do indeed engage in criminal activity.
An interesting phenomenon -- an ancillary consequence, if you will -- of Medicare fraud, though, is the intense scrutiny that many medical professionals across the country say is being placed upon them even as they simply seek to go about their work in an honest manner.
The Medicare program is notably complex and unwieldy, and doctors, billing representatives, hospital administrators and other parties routinely complain that the exactions placed upon them are formidable, if not flatly onerous.
And, when making a mistake can be construed as fraud, criminal implications loom large.
Federal law enforcers -- coordinated task forces, FBI agents, DOJ investigators, prosecutors and more -- routinely delve deeply into irregularities and inconsistencies. When they follow through and publicize details regarding arrests and indictments, reasonable people necessarily withhold judgment concerning guilt and innocence.
Increasingly, that may be harder for a number of Americans to do, given steadily recurring announcements concerning alleged health care fraud schemes and the vulnerability of many medical professionals who can become innocently ensnared in Medicare probes.
A huge -- indeed, unprecedented -- story from just last week underscores how prominent Medicare fraud investigations have become. The tale relates to what one national media publication refers to as "the biggest health care fraud case the Justice Department has ever brought."
The defendants in that case might well turn out to be guilty. Conversely, they might ultimately be adjudged innocent; a principal defendant in the matter states that all the questioned billings "are legitimate and appropriate."
A central take away from the case is this: A health care fraud case is likely to command strong media attention, with a resulting public inclination to judge before all the facts are in.
Any medical professional who is targeted in a health care fraud probe might reasonably want to timely secure the aid of a proven and aggressive criminal defense attorney to fully promote his or her legal rights.
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