Doctors Cashing Telehealth Checks Run Fraud Risk After Pandemic

A larger fraud liability risk looms for doctors billing Medicare and Medicaid for virtual patient checkups whenever relaxed telehealth rules revert to stricter pre-pandemic standards, attorneys say.

Limited-Time Leniency: There could be more False Claims Act charges if the government ends a telehealth waiver letting doctors collect Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for treating patients no matter where they live. The government also might resume its temporarily waived enforcement of a statute barring providers from supplying free or discounted items or services to a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary.

On the Hunt: The Department of Justice has made tackling pandemic-related fraud a ...