What are Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Laws?

Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Laws are a collection of federal and state statutes designed to protect patients, healthcare programs, and taxpayers from fraudulent activities, waste, and abusive practices in the healthcare system. These include the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, False Claims Act, and other regulations that prohibit deceptive practices.

Why are Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Laws important?

• Program integrity: Protects Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare programs from financial loss.
• Patient protection: Prevents exploitation and improper influence over medical decisions.
• Cost control: Reduces wasteful spending in the healthcare system.

Key healthcare fraud and abuse laws

• Anti-Kickback Statute prohibiting payment for referrals.
• Stark Law restricting physician self-referrals.
• False Claims Act penalizing fraudulent billing to government programs.

How Solace can help

A Solace advocate can help you review medical bills for potential fraudulent charges, understand your rights if you suspect improper healthcare practices, and report concerns to appropriate authorities. They can also help you avoid becoming entangled in potentially fraudulent arrangements by explaining how legitimate healthcare transactions differ from those that may violate fraud and abuse laws.