Contact: Lexi Kranich (814) 380-4408
WASHINGTON, D.C.—As Republicans across America are homing in on fraud — especially in blue jurisdictions — Rep. Pat Harrigan (R., N.C.) is making sure that foreign fraud in the Foreign Medical Program (FRA) gets the attention it deserves as well.
Harrigan’s latest legislation, obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, is called the Foreign Medical Program Integrity and Improvement Act — and it comes after multiple warnings about abuse of the program, which has cost the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) tens of millions of dollars.
In one instance, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that VA claims in the FAO more than doubled to 160,000 in just a six year period, with a particular uptick in claims based in Panama. Multiple investigations found that a single Panamanian provider was part of a fraud scheme that bilked tens of…
Insurance fraud involves making false or exaggerated claims to an insurance provider.
- Hard Fraud: Someone deliberately causes a loss (e.g., setting fire to a warehouse or staging a car accident) specifically to collect a payout.
- Soft Fraud: More common and often viewed as “victimless” by the perpetrator. It involves exaggerating a legitimate claim, such as overstating the value of stolen items in a home burglary to cover the deductible.