It’s important to recognize that the individuals targeted with our takedown operations are in the business not of caring for patients, but of manipulating and exploiting them. With a name like National Health Care Fraud Takedown, you might think this operation arrests mostly doctors. But that is not the case—not even close. This year’s takedown involved 412 charged defendants, but the vast majority of them are not doctors or healthcare providers. And even those defendants who do have a medical license, in practice, they are not true medical professionals—they’re professional criminals.
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Good morning! Thank you, Attorney General [Jeff] Sessions, for hosting this event today, and thanks to all of you for being here.
I’d like to begin by recognizing those who are not here today, but without whom this event would not be possible. To the thousands of men and women serving in state and federal law enforcement agencies on the front lines of battling healthcare fraud in America, thank you for your hard work and your heroism that have brought so many criminals to justice.
Healthcare fraud is a crime that deserves special condemnation and requires special cooperation to combat. Not only does it involve stealing billions of taxpayer dollars from America’s seniors and medically needy, but it also undermines the American people’s trust in their healthcare system and our nation’s most important public institutions.
As a physician, and as secretary of HHS, I can tell you that this distrust is misplaced.
America has the best doctors and healthcare providers in the world. But their ability to provide affordable, high-quality care to their patients is jeopardized every time a criminal commits healthcare fraud.
So it’s important to recognize that the individuals targeted with our takedown operations are in the business not of caring for patients, but of manipulating and exploiting them.
With a name like National Health Care Fraud Takedown, you might think this operation arrests mostly doctors. But that is not the case—not even close.
This year’s takedown involved 412 charged defendants, but the vast majority of them are not doctors or healthcare providers. And even those defendants who do have a medical license, in practice, they are not true medical professionals—they’re professional criminals.
This is true especially of the criminals who prey on some of the most vulnerable in our society—the millions of people struggling with drug addiction.
For most Americans, the opioid crisis tearing apart families and communities all across our land is a cause of great sadness and sympathy. But a few individuals look at this national scourge and see an opportunity to profit off of their fellow citizens’ suffering and pain.
That’s why this year’s national takedown operation aggressively targeted individuals who have maliciously contributed to America’s opioid epidemic while also engaging in healthcare fraud.
