Medical fraud is on the move in Florida.
For years, South Florida was the preferred home for criminals staging auto accidents and then filing insurance claims for medical bills and treatment. Today, Tampa and Central Florida have become the "epicenter" of this activity, according to National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) President and CEO Joe Wehrle.
"South Florida used to be the focal point of these deliberate crashes," Wehrle said. "While the Miami and Hialeah areas continue to show increased activity, the criminals have expanded their operation northward and Tampa is now at the epicenter of this crime trend."
That movement north was the impetus toward the opening of NICB's newest major medical fraud task force office in the state. The new Central Florida Major Medical Fraud Task Force is located in Tampa and will focus its investigative resources in the area comprising metropolitan Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Orlando. This includes communities in Pinellas and Pasco counties, through the communities east of Orlando to Cape Canaveral and Titusville, south of Jacksonville and north of Lake Okeechobee. The new task force had its first meeting with local member company SIUs and law enforcement on Monday and over 150 people attended. Some 13 law enforcement agencies were represented as well as prosecutors from the area.
The new task force compliments one of NCIB's original major medical fraud task force operations established in Weston in 2002. The two Florida units focus on medical fraud perpetrated against NICB member insurance companies.
"Our South Florida medical fraud task force has shown how successful we can be in fighting medical fraud," said Wehrle. "Our partnership with law enforcement and member company investigators has shut down a number of fraud rings in that area and, as a result, some of the criminals have moved further north. This new task force will make sure they soon know there is no escaping the heat in central Florida."
The Tampa unit is the sixth NICB major medical fraud task force established nationwide in the past eight years. In addition to the two in Florida, units are housed in California, New York, Texas, and metropolitan Washington, D.C.
Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting, and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through information analysis, investigations, training, legislative advocacy, and public awareness. The NICB is supported by nearly 1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $319 billion in insurance premiums in 2009, or more than 78 percent of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 93 percent ($151 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. www.nicb.org.
For years, South Florida was the preferred home for criminals staging auto accidents and then filing insurance claims for medical bills and treatment. Today, Tampa and Central Florida have become the "epicenter" of this activity, according to National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) President and CEO Joe Wehrle.
"South Florida used to be the focal point of these deliberate crashes," Wehrle said. "While the Miami and Hialeah areas continue to show increased activity, the criminals have expanded their operation northward and Tampa is now at the epicenter of this crime trend."
That movement north was the impetus toward the opening of NICB's newest major medical fraud task force office in the state. The new Central Florida Major Medical Fraud Task Force is located in Tampa and will focus its investigative resources in the area comprising metropolitan Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Orlando. This includes communities in Pinellas and Pasco counties, through the communities east of Orlando to Cape Canaveral and Titusville, south of Jacksonville and north of Lake Okeechobee. The new task force had its first meeting with local member company SIUs and law enforcement on Monday and over 150 people attended. Some 13 law enforcement agencies were represented as well as prosecutors from the area.
They have their work cut out for them.
A recent NICB report, available here, shows Tampa with 487 questionable claims related to staged/caused accidents in 2009, a 290 percent increase over the previous year. Miami had 258, an 11 percent increase, and Orlando had 240, a 24 percent increase. Wehrle noted that the number of questionable claims for all insurance fraud increased 15 percent from 2008 to 2009 in Florida. However, a 58 percent jump in the staged/caused accident category shows that criminals are taking advantage of the state's no-fault auto accident coverage.The new task force compliments one of NCIB's original major medical fraud task force operations established in Weston in 2002. The two Florida units focus on medical fraud perpetrated against NICB member insurance companies.
"Our South Florida medical fraud task force has shown how successful we can be in fighting medical fraud," said Wehrle. "Our partnership with law enforcement and member company investigators has shut down a number of fraud rings in that area and, as a result, some of the criminals have moved further north. This new task force will make sure they soon know there is no escaping the heat in central Florida."
The Tampa unit is the sixth NICB major medical fraud task force established nationwide in the past eight years. In addition to the two in Florida, units are housed in California, New York, Texas, and metropolitan Washington, D.C.
Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting, and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through information analysis, investigations, training, legislative advocacy, and public awareness. The NICB is supported by nearly 1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $319 billion in insurance premiums in 2009, or more than 78 percent of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 93 percent ($151 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. www.nicb.org.
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