WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced that its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, has identified approximately $17.5 billion in suspicious financial activity potentially linked to health care fraud that is threatening the integrity of federal health care programs.
'By identifying and reporting this suspicious activity, financial institutions have given law enforcement critical insight into the illicit actors who deliberately exploit U.S. health care benefits programs,' said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 'Treasury will continue working alongside our law enforcement partners to disrupt fraud wherever it occurs, protect Americans, and safeguard the integrity of taxpayer-funded programs.'
A new Financial Trend Analysis by FinCEN has found that over a one-year period, financial institutions filed more than 5,700 Bank Secrecy Act reports between March 1, 2025 and February 28, 2026, flagging activity potentially connected to health care fraud. The findings provide law enforcement with critical financial intelligence to identify, investigate, and disrupt illicit schemes that exploit taxpayer-funded health care benefits.
Health care fraud drains resources from the Americans who rely on these programs, drives up health care costs, and can put patients at serious risk. Treasury said it is using every available tool to support President Trump's agenda to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government.
Working with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud led by Vice President JD Vance, Treasury has urged whistleblowers to report credible information related to fraud, money laundering, sanctions violations, and tax-law violations. Tips from whistleblowers, combined with financial institutions' BSA reporting, can help Treasury and its law enforcement partners uncover criminal networks, recover taxpayer funds, and hold bad actors accountable, the Treasury Department said in a press release.
Depository institutions filed approximately 89 percent of reports in the dataset and accounted for nearly 87 percent of the reported suspicious activity amounts.
Potentially fraudulent funds were often received from a combination of federal and state programs, as well as private insurance companies.
Medicare payments frequently originated from Medicare Administrative Contractors whereas Medicaid payments originated from state-level administrators.
Home health care businesses were identified as the suspected fraudulent provider in 20 percent of all health care fraud-related BSA reports.
Other frequently identified providers included hospice care companies, mental and/or behavioral health and addiction treatment providers and companies, medical equipment providers, and adult or child daycares.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
