The State of North Carolina and the federal government is on a “Fraud Rampage!”  Those entities engaging in Medicaid fraud: Beware!

North Carolina authorities have arrested 18 health care providers accused of defrauding the state Medicaid system, Attorney General Roy Cooper said Monday.

The charges allege more than $500,000 in fraudulent payments combined. The state is pursing criminal convictions as well as restitution of money from the accused, Cooper said.

These arrests come on the heels of North Carolina receiving $16 million from Abbott Laboratories a couple months ago.  Abbott settled a national Medicaid fraud case, and $16 million was North Carolina’s portion.  Abbott was accused of advertising its anti-seizure drug Depakote for non-FDA approved health conditions, such as dementia and autism.  A doctor may prescribe a drug for off-label purposes, but a manufacturer may not advertise its drugs for off-label purposes.

Whew…that $16 million padded the Medicaid budget, right?  Well, not so fast. Remember Perdue just took $20 million from Medicaid.  Maybe the settlement helped out Perdue’s decision to take $20 million from Medicaid to give to pre-K programs. Who knows? I guess with $20 million out and $16 million in, the Medicaid budget is still lacking.

So, North Carolina will need to find more fraud. Already, we can expect approximately $500,000 from 18 health care providers arrested for Medicaid fraud.