A recent report from the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services states that in fiscal year 2011, California recovered $388.26 million through investigations into Medicaid fraud and patient abuse. No other state recouped as much as California; Texas, in second place, recovered $190.87 million. In total, states recovered $1.7 billion through such investigations. Meanwhile, federal and state governments spent a total of $208.6 million on Medicaid Fraud Control Units (“MCFUs”) in FY 2011. Overall, the OIG estimates that federal and state governments recouped $8.39 for every dollar spent on the MCFUs.
MCFUs conducted a total of 14,819 investigations in FY 2011. Of these, 10,685 were Medicaid fraud investigations, resulting in over 800 convictions to date. The units also conducted 4,134 investigations of suspected patient abuse and neglect, resulting in over 400 convictions to date.