According to the report, the new regulation would penalize practices under the False Claims Act for not returning overpayments quickly enough. It would also extend the looking-back period to 10 years, allowing auditors to report overpayments discovered 10 years from when the overpayment is received.
Physicians and other health professionals could face monetary fines and exclusion from federal health programs for failing to report and return an overpayment, the proposed rule states. Cases also could be referred to the HHS Office of Inspector General for investigation of possible anti-kickback statute violations.
This announcement coincided with a report to Congress made by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder detailing $4.1 billion in fraud and other health care recoveries in 2011, the largest ever.
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