"...health care fraud drives up medical costs" Really?

Friday, September 5, 2008
Study suggests health care fraud drives up medical costs
Birmingham Business Journal



While health care companies are spending billions on construction, a recent study has found that health care fraud may be one of the biggest factors driving up health care costs, to the tune of billions of dollars, new research indicates.

Resolved health care fraud cases alone in the previous decade involved $9.3 billion in damages paid to both federal and state government, according to researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Results of the study are slated to be published in the Sept. 2 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

But the researchers said the data suggest that there is likely much more unrecognized fraud still going on within the health care system, adding countless inefficiencies that drive up costs.