Healthcare Defense Defending Home Health Fraud Lawyers
After being charged with committing home health fraud, one of the first things that you should do is seek the assistance of a defense attorney who understands the laws surrounding this issue. You can be charged with home health fraud if you knowingly try to get more money from insurance companies or other sources that are financing the home health that is provided. You can also be questioned if you are involved with the business that is committing the fraudulent act.
Ways Fraud Can Be Committed
There are quite a few ways that home health care fraud can be committed. You could bill an insurance company or a patient for services that haven’t been provided or for services that aren’t necessary for the health of the individual receiving care. Another way to commit health fraud is by paying other people to bring the company patients or to falsify information on medical documents in order for the company to get more money. Billing for medications that aren’t needed or used can be a form of health care fraud as well. This is a crime that is often prosecuted under the False Claims Act and should be handled with professional representation as the consequences of being found guilty of the crime could be severe.
Hiring The Right Attorney
When searching for an attorney to hire to represent you on your home health fraud charges, you need to consider someone who works in this area instead of a criminal defense attorney. Keep in mind that a criminal defense attorney can offer advice and can likely represent you in the way that you need in court. However, an attorney who works only with health care fraud and other health-related issues in court will likely know about a few cases that can be used as references for your defense as well as ways to present your case that a typical criminal defense attorney might not know about.
A detail that you need to be concerned about regarding home health fraud is that you could lose your medical license if you’re convicted of the charges brought against you. The attorney you hire should know about statutes of limitation as there are periods of time for bringing charges against someone depending on the crime committed. If you are the head of a large business, then seeking the assistance of an attorney who deals with health care fraud is a bit more important as your employees could be charged if they know about the crimes that have been committed. They could also lose their jobs if you are convicted. A benefit of hiring a health care defense attorney is that the person will likely know how to call witnesses on your behalf who are in the medical profession and will likely know how to question those witnesses when they are on the stand.
Home health fraud charges usually result after an investigation by the local or state government. The FBI could also get involved in the investigation reveals significant fraudulent acts that are taking place, which could mean a longer prison sentence and higher fines if you’re convicted. Try to cooperate as much as possible with your attorney and the prosecution as this could benefit you in court. If there is enough evidence against you, then your attorney can offer advice about accepting a plea deal so that you don’t receive a sentence that is as harsh as one that you would receive if you were to go through an entire trial. In some instances, you could be sentenced to life in prison and could be ordered to pay up to $250,000 in fines.
