Medical fraud is a type of financial fraud related to Medicaid and Medicare waste or other healthcare billing issues at private practices or hospital facilities. It may be necessary to hire medical fraud defense lawyers if you or your healthcare facility is accused of medical fraud. There are several reasons why unintentional fraud may happen, and you will need the assistance of a legal representative to prove your case.
Requesting a dismissal essentially means that you are submitting a document to the local court to dismiss charges for false allegations of fraud.
For many, this is a good legal strategy to handle potential fraud cases.
Mistakes in Fraud Allegations
When you request dismissal of charges, the easiest defense is to attest that there have been mistakes in fraud allegations.
There may also be errors in paperwork related to fraud allegations that you may use to dismiss your case. Your lawyer will be knowledgeable about the legal strategies that can be used for the dismissal of your charges.
2. Build the Strongest Defense
Your lawyer will help you build the strongest defense for your case based on the details of your charges. It’s important to provide your lawyer with all pertinent information, including documents about the billing practices that are used by your healthcare facility. Other defense strategies can include:
Explain Why Billing Was Necessary
One of the main strategies that will be used to build a strong defense for your case will be to explain why billing was necessary. Many medical fraud cases are launched because the patient believes they are being billed unfairly. Your healthcare facility will need to explain why billing for certain services was necessary.
For example, if a patient required an IV line during an emergency room visit, there would need to be a justification for why the IV was necessary, such as for the treatment of dehydration.
Defend Coding Mistakes
You may also need to defend against coding mistakes.
3. Represent You in Court
It may also be necessary to hire medical fraud defense lawyers if your case needs to be tried in court. Your lawyer will use current laws and regulations to support your case.
Unintentional Fraud Defense
The most common legal strategy used to defend against fraud is unintentional fraud. Unintentional fraud occurs when there is an error in billing or coding that burdens the patient with unfair medical bills.
Unintentional fraud is easy to prove because your medical facility will have documents that support normal billing practices. This will prove that your practice has made a mistake and that the fraud allegation was unintentional.
Eding Words
Medical fraud happens when there are errors in billing or coding that charge insurance companies, Medicaid, and Medicare for healthcare services that were not rendered.