A November report by federal health care inspectors said that the U.S. nursing home industry overbills Medicare $1.5 billiion a year for unnecessary treatments or treatments the patients never received. What is worse is the providers who have a profit motive - the for-profit homes. Research shows that for-profits are more likely to pursue money in all kinds of ways, even by pushing the legal envelope. This profit motive is having an outsize affect on the quality of care, resulting in a spike in waste, fraud and abuse charges brought by federal authorities. Federal prosecutors brought 120 civil and criminal cases against nursing homes and related individuals from 2008 to 2012. This is twice the amount for the prior 5 years, compared with a 60 percent rise in all department cases. All 120 cases are now resolved.
To read more about these cases and the fraud in for-profit nursing homes, visit the Bloomberg News investigation.