The Penalties for Perjury in Medicare Part D

Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage includes penalties for perjury.

Participants in the Medicare Part D program are obligated to comply with the program's many provisions, often signing documents and forms under the penalty of perjury in order to do so. With the spotlight on containing health costs for government run programs, investigations and prosecutions for health care fraud are on the rise. Prosecuting perjury cases and enforcing penalties is one of the many tools the government uses to combat fraud and contain these costs.

Federal Perjury Laws

Title 18 U.S.C. § 1621 states the general law prohibiting perjury and the penalties for a perjury conviction. Perjury is committed when a verifiable false statement is made under oath in court or in any written statement signed under the penalty of perjury. The statute provides for a fine, to be determined by the court, and up to five years imprisonment for a perjury conviction.

Health Care Reform Aand Fraud Investigation

Health care reform advocates have made cost containment a key part of their reform efforts. At an Oct. 28, 2009 senate hearing, the deputy secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS) testified that his department's fraud investigations lead to a recovery of $4 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009. He also testified that the government is using new methods of data analysis and intelligence gathering to detect patterns of crime and the regions with the worst problems.

Enforcement Laws

Laws enacted to specifically combat fraud involving government health care programs, such as Medicare Part D, include the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act. Prosecutions under these laws often rely on perjured statements from the programs' participants in the form of falsified compliance-reporting documents signed under the penalty of perjury. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is the agency responsible for these prosecutions.

Penalties

Convictions related to the Medicare Part D program under the above-reference laws carry several types of penalties. Criminal penalties can be imposed in the form of fines and prison sentences. Civil monetary penalties can be imposed to disgorge profits and ill-gotten gains. A civil penalty may also include suspension from participating in the Medicare program.

DOJ-HHS Task Force

In May 2009, the Obama administration created an inter-agency task force between the DOJ and HHS to combat fraud. Called the "Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT)," the task force will be comprised of senior officials from both the DOJ and HHS who will work to strengthen existing programs to eliminate fraud and to invest new resources to prevent fraud, waste and abuse before it happens. A website called "Stop Medicare Fraud" currently run by the DOJ and HHS provides information on the task force, tips on how to spot Medicare fraud, and contact information to report suspected fraud.

References

• 18 U.S.C. § 1621--Perjury
• HHS.gov; Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team
• Stop Medicare Fraud