Government on hook for billions per year.

• Position: Health Care Fraud - Brief article

Scams against government and private health care insurers are the largest types of insurance fraud. While the exact amount of money stolen in this way is unknown, the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association puts the total at close to $100,000,000,000 per year.

"Whatever the actual total is, it's increasing rapidly," says Susan Deehan, chair and CEO of Actionable Intelligence Technologies, Dulles, Va. She indicates that the rise in fraud stems from the increase in the nation's overall health care budget, which is a magnet to criminal organizations. Figures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that health care expenditures in the U.S. reached 3.2 trillion dollars in 2015, or about $10,000 per person. Medicare spending alone reached $616,800,000,000.

While health care fraud is a national issue, there appear to be certain hotspots. The Office of Inspector General, Washington, D.C., has released a report on the efforts of Federal...