US to Prioritize Private Equity’s Role in Healthcare Fraud

The Justice Department is focusing on private equity’s role in causing healthcare fraud, the head of the Civil Division said Thursday.

“We have already had a few cases involving private equity firms, and given the significant role that private equity is increasingly playing in the healthcare field, we anticipate that their impact on healthcare billings will continue to grow as well,” said Brian Boynton, the Civil Division’s top official, in remarks prepared for delivery at a legal conference in Washington.

The department’s civil investigators are increasingly noticing private equity, venture capital, and other investing sources influencing medical provider behavior, he ...