Are we likely to see the Medicare Fraud Strike Force expand to additional cities in the near future? According to Sam G. Sheldon, deputy chief of the fraud section in the DOJ's criminal division, the answer is yes, though the exact timing depends on how much money is budgeted for the program. I recently heard Sheldon speak at the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association's  Annual Training Conference in California, and in addition to talk of a Strike Force expansion, he said that health care fraud is moving away from DME and increasingly cropping up in home health and mental health.

I also attended a session on medical identity theft, and heard Jean Stone from CMS talk about the increase in compromised Medicare numbers. Stone said the current distribution of compromised numbers roughly corresponds to cities with Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams, and she said CMS has noticed a sharp uptick in compromised numbers in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Stone did not say whether Seattle could be a possible candidate for a Medicare Fraud Strike Force team.

Stone said CMS maintains a database of compromised Medicare numbers, and at last count had identified 1,775 compromised provider numbers, and 226,629 compromised beneficiary numbers. Stone said ZPICs are responsible for investigating the compromised numbers.