EHFCN signs Memorandum of Understanding with Canadian and American healthcare anti-fraud associations
EHFCN announced the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (CHCAA) and the American National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA).
All three organisations share the common goal of reducing and eliminating healthcare fraud in their respective jurisdictions as well as globally. The action aims to create an international network of healthcare counter fraud organisations and professionals and pursue a co-operative and collaborative approach to combating the problem of healthcare fraud.
Healthcare fraud is a serious problem. Its staggering price tag is estimated between €30 billion and €100 billion annually in the European Union alone, between $3 billion and $15 billion, and between $67 billion and $226 billion annually in Canada and in the United States respectively. Every euro or dollar lost to fraud means someone, somewhere is not getting the treatment they need, they are ill for longer, and in some cases they simply die unnecessarily.
Healthcare fraud schemes have become exportable and fraud trends are becoming more and more similar from country to country. These schemes continue to grow in their complexity and represent a multi-billion dollar cost to healthcare and benefit payers worldwide. Our evolving global healthcare landscape creates a heightened need for international cooperation between entities dedicated to addressing this problem.
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between NHCAA, CHCAA and EHFCN represents the launching of an international network of healthcare counter fraud organisations that are engaged in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of healthcare fraud.
Paul Vincke, President of EHFCN, said: “It is essential that associations such as EHFCN, CHCAA and NHCAA form strong relationships and network in order to deal with potential increases in global cross-border fraud and corruption by exchanging information on current problems and solutions. Joint working will ensure that all healthcare systems in Europe, Canada and America have the best strategies for tackling healthcare fraud and corruption available to them.”
Through strategic partnerships, the network intends to raise awareness internationally about the issue of healthcare fraud while gathering and sharing information on the trends, issues, facts and figures relating to the problem. In addition, the network will cooperatively work to improve international standards of practice around fraud prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution. This includes the development of training programmes offered as joint educational efforts among the participating organisations to bolster and prepare the world's healthcare anti-fraud professionals.