Health executive lobbied in Washington to advance Medicare fraud scheme

[alp227]

Source: Wash. Post

Miami health-care executive Larry Duran orchestrated one of the largest Medicare frauds in U.S. history, submitting more than $205 million in phony claims and landing a record-breaking 50-year prison sentence for his crimes.

But another piece of Duran’s scheme also caught the eye of prosecutors. They say he extended his fraud by his lobbying efforts, all aimed at getting official Washington to make it easier for mental health centers like his to make money.

An advocacy group he helped set up, called the National Association for Behavioral Health, spent more than $750,000 on lobbying efforts over the past five years, including staging “fly-ins” on Capitol Hill and providing advice to its members on how to get around Medicare denials, according to the Justice Department. The group also held fundraisers for key lawmakers such as Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and former congressman Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), records show.

“Duran did not stop with just committing a massive fraud on the Medicare program through his own companies. Duran franchised his fraud to others,” trial attorney Jennifer Saulino wrote in a sentencing memo last month. An advocacy group he helped found, she said, “provided Duran a legitimate-looking vehicle to lobby Congress to allocate more money, through Medicare, to Duran and his co-conspirators for their fraudulent schemes.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/health-executive-lobbied-in-washington-to-advance-medicare-fraud-scheme/2011/09/28/gIQA7dRXNL_singlePage.html

[Andy823]

1. Why medicare is in trouble

This is what the problem is, and it's going on daily, fraud in the system! This is where we need to make changes, and I think this is what the president has said many times. We not only need to increase investigations, make huge fines on those who commit the fraud, but also go after the lobbyists that are involved and fine the hell of out of them also. And least we not forget, we need to find the members of congress who were part of this, who knew this was fraud, and kick them out of congress ASP as well as setting fines for their part in this fraud! There is no reason to make those who receive medicare pay more when what we need is to stop the abuse of the system, and even use the money received in fines to go back into the medicare system to help the elderly.

[young but wise]

2. +1

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DCKit]

6. That would set a precedent and every CEO, CFO, etc... would become a (legitimate) target...

for investigation and prosecution.

TPTB are going to resist mightily.

[Frustratedlady]

3. I've been watching these and they have uncovered several huge fraud cases.

Makes you wonder how many are out there. Lots are from Florida, it seems.

[alp227]

5. Cuz of rick scott?

Google the governor name with medicare fraud