Fraud in the healthcare industry can take many forms, but few of these crimes impact the individual healthcare consumer like the crime of excessive services. A Federal healthcare fraud charge related to excessive services carries heavy penalties that can stem from suits originated by either the government or individual consumers.
A Maryland Federal healthcare fraud attorney who has experience dealing with excessive services can work with you to achieve a positive result in your case while looking for ways to mitigate possible penalties.
About Excessive Services Schemes
Typically, healthcare fraud related to excessive services is thought to be:
- Knowingly billing for services that were not actually utilized
- Knowingly billing for supplies that were not provided
- Knowingly billing for services more complex than actually performed
- Failing to properly report records showing appointments that were not actually attended by patients
However, there are many ways that systemic mistakes or simple accounting errors can be misconstrued as fraud. When you are being investigated for excessive services fraud by the government, it is important to have an attorney by your side who can help you to understand your rights and avoid wrongfully incriminating yourself.
Federal Healthcare Fraud Excessive Services Penalties
The Federal government considers the fraud crime of excessive services to be very serious and attempts to regulate such schemes through various penalties.
18 U.S. Code Section 1347 states that if you knowingly and willfully, attempted or executed, a plan to defraud any type of healthcare benefit program, or, tried to obtain money or property owned by any healthcare benefit program, by way of false or misleading pretenses you may face a penalty of:
- Not more than 10 years in prison and/or a fine
- Not more than 20 years in prison and/or a fine if the fraud resulted in serious bodily injury
- Up to life in prison and/or a fine if the fraud resulted in death
Penalties related to excessive services can also come from 18 US Code Section 1035 which stipulates that if you knowingly falsified any statement or representation in a document that was associated with the payment of healthcare benefits or services, you may face a penalty of:
- Not more than 5 years in prison and/or a fine
How a Federal Healthcare Fraud Lawyer Can Help
Many of the possible penalties associated with excessive charges are based on your intent. Because of this, it is possible that an experienced Federal healthcare fraud excessive services lawyer can help identify and defend the fact that you did not intentionally commit fraud.
If you would like to consult with an experienced Federal healthcare fraud attorney, please contact our firm today.
