Health care fraud in the United States, whether committed in the public or private sector, is pervasive and expensive. Annual health care spending in the United States is approximately $1 trillion. Virginia alone spends $2.3 billion dollars each year on the Medicaid program. In May 1992 the U.S. General Accounting Office estimated that the loss amounted to as much as $10% of the total annual healthcare expenditure. Other estimates of fraud are higher.
The Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) was established in 1982 to investigate and prosecute insurance fraud against the federally funded Medicaid program for indigent health services. The MFCU employs a professional staff of criminal investigators, auditors and several Assistant Attorneys General who are experienced in commercial and financial investigations. The Virginia MFCU works regularly with all federal and state law enforcement agencies, as well as private insurance companies operating within Virginia. When a particular healthcare provider is defrauding Medicaid, it is usually defrauding the private insurer as well. If you would like to report a suspected case of Medicaid fraud or have questions, please contact us at 1-800-371-0824 or at MFCU_mail@oag.state.va.us.