GAO: FBI Misused Money Intended to Fight Health Care Fraud

WASHINGTON–Money intended for investigating health care fraud
may have been misused by the FBI, according to a report by the
Government Accountability Office.

The FBI shifted money from an account in the Medicare trust fund
to counterterrorism activities between 2000 and 2003, according to
the May 16 report. Furthermore, the report said “the FBI had no
effective mechanism in place” to ensure compliance with the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which established a
separate program for investigating health care fraud in 1996.

“Neither GAO nor FBI could reliably determine whether all of the
HIPAA transfers were spent solely for health care fraud
investigations and related activities for the four-year period,”
according to the report.

The study was requested by Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of
the Finance Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid. The
senator said the transfer of money “violates federal law to
reprogram the dollars specifically allocated by Congress for this
purpose, and it’s inexcusable that the government cannot account
for millions of dollars set aside to fight health care fraud.”

Because of poor accounting practices, the report said, it is not
clear how much money was actually shifted.

To view the report, titled Federal Bureau of Investigation:
Accountability over the HIPAA Funding of Health Care Fraud
Investigations Is Inadequate, click here.