The Department of Justice questioned former UnitedHealth doctors as it investigates claims that the health insurance giant pushed staffers to make diagnoses that triggered higher Medicare payments, according to a report Wednesday.
The investigation, which dates back to at least last summer, concerns alleged efforts to encourage staffers to record certain diagnoses that trigger higher payments under Medicare Advantage, the program for seniors and the disabled, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Investigators for the Justice Department, FBI, and Health and Human Services Department have been asking for details on patient testing, procedures used to reach certain diagnoses and the process of sending nurses to patients’ homes, according to former UnitedHealth employees.
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
UnitedHealth, whose healthcare executive Brian Thompson was executed by an assassin last year outside a Midtown hotel, said it stands “firmly behind the integrity of our Medicare Advantage business.”
Hellbound and Down 