West Virginia Attorney General issued the following announcement on Sept. 3.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Thursday the office’s work to root out consumer, disability and Medicaid fraud will soon surpass $410 million since 2013.
Savings and funds secured since early July pushed the amount to $409.7 million. That includes payments to the state, consumer restitution and related relief, in-kind compensation, recovered funds and projected savings for the state and federal government.
“Every aspect of our office works feverishly to protect consumers, represent the state’s interests and wage an all-out assault on fraud, waste and abuse,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “I commend each of our attorneys and staff members for having West Virginia’s back.
“Our success puts money back into the pockets of West Virginians, eases their tax burden and improves their quality of life. This includes restitution and debt cancellation for fraud victims, millions to improve high-speed internet access, monies to fight the scourge of prescription opioid abuse as well as funding to protect those on Social Security and Medicaid,” he continued.
When factoring in office efforts to enforce the tobacco settlement and preserve funding for the state and its political subdivisions, the total yield for consumers and taxpayers exceeds $1 billion.
Specifically, the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division has generated more than $374.35 million since 2013. That includes $37.3 million in canceled debt for consumers, along with broadband expansion and other in-kind compensation valued at more than $166.5 million.
The Attorney General has returned $52.6 million to state coffers in keeping with his administration’s continued commitment to run an efficient office and successfully manage settlement monies in a manner to help reduce the tax bill of West Virginians.
Additionally, the office’s policy for hiring outside counsel has increased transparency and saved the state more than $11.9 million, thus keeping more money for consumers and the state of West Virginia, which in turn eases the financial burden of state taxpayers.
The Attorney General’s partnership with the Social Security Administration has generated $23.06 million in disability fraud savings since West Virginia joined the program in December 2015.
More recently, the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has recovered nearly $12.3 million since the Attorney General’s Office assumed control of the unit Oct. 1, 2019.
Original source can be found here.