HEALTH FRAUD HAS COPS BUSY

A team of 28 Ontario Provincial Police Officers are assigned to
investigate health-care fraud. Four of those deal solely with health
fraud where the drugs are paid for under the Ontario Drug Benefit
Plan, which funds medications for seniors and social assistance recipients.

At one point the OPP had 17 investigations, and at least eight at any
given time. There are currently two double-doctoring investigations
under way in Windsor. In addition to a Comber woman who pleaded guilty
to 217 counts of double-doctoring, a Toronto man has been charged with
700 counts.

Det. Sgt. Lee Woodman, with the drug enforcement section of the OPP,
said abuse of prescription drugs is getting worse.

"It can be obtained legally, people can go see a doctor with a variety
of ailments, and some doctors issue prescriptions when they probably
shouldn't," said Woodman.

Between 1997 and 2003 the OPP laid 3,963 Criminal Code charges for
double-doctoring and prescription drug abuse, achieving 506
convictions. Close to $2.7 million was recovered and as of Dec. 31,
there were 246 open cases under review or under active investigation,
said Dan Strasbourg, spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Health,
which teamed with the OPP.

The MOHLTC operates a fraud hotline which, according to Strasbourg,
received 24,379 calls between October 1997 and Dec. 31, 2003. Those
calls resulted in 29,045 eligibility files being closed (for review)
by the verification unit.

"That resulted in eligibility being ended in 34 per cent of cases,"
Strasbourg said. "We have triggers in place to identify health care
fraud because we take it very seriously. We have resources and success
behind it. So beware."