University of Illinois Law Review

In recent years, health care fraud has attracted considerable national attention and, perhaps, rightfully so. Recent figures indicate that fraud in the health care industry results in nearly $90 billion in losses a year. In addition to the obvious economic costs, health care fraud also has a negative impact on patients as well. By performing unnecessary medical procedures, falsifying medical documents, and engaging in illegal kickback arrangements, health care providers place their patients directly in harms way.

In this article, Professor Pamela H. Bucy addresses the issues surrounding crimes committed by health care providers and argues in favor of more aggressive prosecution of those who commit health care fraud. She begins by providing a comprehensive discussion of the federal and state statutes that the government has traditionally used to prosecute health care providers who commit fraud. Professor Bucy then addresses current legislative efforts to curb abuses in the health care system, and offers suggestions as to how these proposed laws may be effectively implemented to achieve their purpose. Professor Bucy concludes by proposing several additional reforms to federal and state criminal statutes, reforms which she believes are needed to combat health care crimes in the future.

* Bainbridge Professor of Law, University of Alabama School of Law. B.A. 1975, Austin College; J.D. 1978, Washington University. The author greatly appreciates the generous support of Dean Kenneth C. Randall and the University of Alabama Law School Foundation.