rx15 vision wed_200_oig
TRANSCRIPT
From Analytics to ActionA Law Enforcement Perspective on the Use of Data
Analytics to Combat Rx Drug Diversion
Gary CantrellDeputy Inspector General
Mike CohenInspector
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General/Office of Investigations
Overview
• HHS-OIG Overview
• Use of Data Analytics
• Prioritizing Enforcement through Data
• Rx Data Analytics
• Rx Drug Fraud Trends in Medicare/Medicaid
• Case Example – Pharmacy Scheme
• Measuring Impact
Program Scope
• CMS is the largest purchaser of health care in the world – approximately $802 billion
• Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program provide care for approximately 1 in 4 Americans (roughly 107 million beneficiaries)
• CMS processes more than 1 billion Medicare claims annually
HHS Office of Inspector General
• Mission: Protect the integrity of HHS programs as well as the health and welfare of program beneficiaries
• Fight fraud, waste, abuse in Medicare & Medicaid, plus 100 other HHS programs
• Largest Inspector General’s office in Federal Government
• Office of Investigations performs criminal, civil and administrative enforcement
4/23/2015 4
OIG Statistics
4/23/2015 5
Office of Inspector General Statistics
OIG Action FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 Total
Criminal Actions 647 723 778 960 971 4,079
Civil Actions 378 382 367 472 533 2,132
Exclusions 3,340 2,662 3,131 3,214 4,017 16,364
HHS Investigative Receivables $3.2 Billion $3.6 Billion $4.3 Billion $4.0 Billion 2.9 Billion $ 18.2 Billion
Non-HHS Investigative Receivables $576.9 Million $952.8 Million $1.7 Billion $1.02 Billion 1.1 Billion $5.3 Billion
Total Investigative Receivables $3.8 Billion $4.6 Billion $6.0 Billion $5.0 Billion 4.1 Billion $ 23.6 Billion
How do you prioritize enforcement in a program so large?
Data Analytics
• Data analytics plays a significant role in OIG’s oversight and enforcement strategy
– Allocate Resources
– Triage Allegations
– Investigations are more efficient
– Measure Impact
IMPACT
Rx Drug Analytics
Medicare Prescription Drug Spending
Medicare Payment Trends:Miami FL CBSA, 2006-2014 (Q3)
4/23/2015 11
Pharmacy model
Metro area distribution of the 1,000 pharmacies with the highest risk scores
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Miami
New York
Los Angeles
Detroit
Houston
Tampa
McAllen
Dallas
Number of pharmacies
Prescriber model
Metro area distribution of the 1,000 prescribers with the highest risk scores
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Miami
New York
Detroit
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Tampa
Phoenix
Houston
Number of prescribers
Prescriber “pill-mill” model
Metro area distribution of the 1,000 prescribers with the highest risk scores
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Nashville
DC/Baltimore
Atlanta
Philadelphia
New York
Phoenix
Detroit
Seattle
Number of prescribers
Proactive Analysis
Recent OIG Drug Reports
• Inappropriate Medicare Part D Payments for Schedule II Drugs Billed as Refills– Inappropriately paid $25M for schedule II refills
– Pharmacists putting “dummy numbers” or pharmacy number rather than prescriber number: “AB0000000”
• Prescribers with Questionable Patterns in Medicare Part D – 736 general care physicians
– Medicare paid $352M for part D drugs from these physicians
4/23/2015 16
Recent OIG Drug Reports
• Retail Pharmacies with Questionable Part D Billing– Over 2600 pharmacies identified
– Found 873M prescriptions written for 24M benes
• Medicare Inappropriately Paid for Drugs Ordered by Individuals Without Prescribing Authority– Massage Therapists, Athletic Trainers, Home Repair Contractors,
etc.
• Part D Beneficiaries With Questionable Utilization Patterns for HIV Drugs– Almost 1,600 Part D beneficiaries had questionable utilization
patterns for HIV drugs.
4/23/2015 LIMITED OFFICIAL USE ONLY
DHHS/OIG
17
Rx Drug Fraud Trends
OIG Purview
• All drugs billed to Medicare, Medicaid
• This includes Controlled and Non-Controlled medications
• Non-Controlled very expensive
• Used as bargaining chips
SubSys
• Fentanyl approved for cancer pain
• 2014 Medicare spent $98M for 13K prescriptions
Others
• Oxycodone, hydrocodone products (Zohydro)
• ADHD medications
• Sedatives/Anxiolytics (Ativan)
• Ketamine (compounding)
Why Worry About Non-Controlled?
• Used illicitly by themselves
– Antipsychotics (“jailhouse heroin”)
– HIV medications side effects (e.g. Sustiva)
• Used as “potentiators” for opiates
Polypharmacy Cocktails Potentiators
• Abilify + Seroquel Snort (“jailhouse heroin”)
• Soma + Codeine (“Soma Coma”)
• Seroquel + Zyprexa + Ativan + ETOH + Cocaine
• HIV Protease Inhibitors + Percocet
• Caffeine + ETOH + Eyeball
• Promethazine/Codeine + Tampon
• ETOH + Albuterol Inhaler
• Adderall + Albuterol + Sleep deprivation
• Adderall + Lexapro + Cannabis
• Meth/Ecstasy/Viagra (Rectally)=“Royal Flush”
4/23/2015 23
Erowid Recipe Blog
4/23/2015 LIMITED OFFICIAL USE ONLY
DHHS/OIG
24
Case Example
• Detroit pharmacist (Babubhai “Bob” Patel) owned 26 pharmacies
• Provided kickbacks to induce physicians to write prescriptions and present them to his pharmacies
• Pharmacist/owner arrested and sentenced to 17 years
• 26 Defendants Originally Charged– 20 Convicted or Pled Guilty, including
• 11 of 12 Pharmacists
• 2 of 4 Doctors
• 13 Additional Defendants Charged– Including 5 doctors, 4 Pharmacists, and a Home Health Agency
owner
4/23/2015 25
One of Patel’s “Apartments”
4/23/2015 26
Boxes Confiscated from Search Warrant
4/23/2015 27
Measuring Impact
Outcomes: DME Payment Trends
• Medicare payments for DME in Miami peaked at more than $60 million per quarter in 2006
• In 2007, numerous federal oversight and administrative initiatives were launched by CMS, OIG and others, including the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in May 2007
• Miami-area DME payments decreased from over $40 million per quarter in 2007 -before the Strike Force’s first takedown-to $15 million per quarter in 2011 (e.g., approximately $100 million in annual savings thereafter)
Sustained declines in Medicare payments have followed Federal enforcement and oversight action.
Outcomes: HHA Payment Trends
• Medicare payments for Home Health care increased from 2006 until 2010
• In 2009, federal enforcement actions (initiated by the HEAT Strike Force case U.S. v. Zambrana in Miami), followed by the OEI HHA Outlier Payments report, influenced CMS to change Medicare’s HHA outlier coverage policy
• Since 2010, Medicare payments for home health care nationally decreased by more than $300 million per quarter (e.g., more than $1 billion annually)
– In Miami, payments for HHAs decreased by $100 million per quarter since peak in 2009
– In Dallas and McAllen, TX, payments for HHAs are down by $30 million per quarter
– In Detroit, payments for HHAs decreased by $25 million per quarter since peak in 2009
Sustained declines in Medicare payments have followed Federal enforcement and oversight action.
What To Do if you Suspect Medicare Fraud or Diversion Activity?
If you suspect a Medicare provider or beneficiary is diverting, contact
• 800-HHS-TIPS or at
• oig.hhs.gov/report-fraud
4/23/2015 31