New Central Office to Detect Healthcare Fraud

There has been a huge increase in billing fraud in healthcare. This is announced by the Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony. Now a new investigative body is to track down billing fraudsters. The central office is affiliated with the Braunschweig Public Prosecutor's Office.

On Thursday, Justice Minister Kathrin Wahlmann (SPD) presented the plans: The team consists of five prosecutors as well as a medical accounting officer and an IT forensic expert who can help with the digital search for clues. According to the Ministry, the investigative body is supported by health insurance companies, nursing insurance companies and the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in the search for fraud patterns. The central office is scheduled to start work in January 2027. Accounting fraud undermines trust "With the new central office, we are pooling competencies to detect abnormalities more quickly and to consistently tackle millions of euros in fraud," Wahlmann said at the presentation of the investigative unit.

Settlement fraud is not only a pity for the contributors, but also undermines trust in the health care system, according to the SPD politician. Proceedings in the healthcare sector are very complex Deputy Attorney General Melanie Redlich pointed out that investigations into billing fraud in the healthcare sector are regularly very complex and require special knowledge. “Effective law enforcement in this area requires specialists. This specialization will be achieved with the creation of the central office," said Redlich.

Data protection makes it difficult to clarify health information and the relationship between doctors and patients is highly sensitive and particularly protected in Germany. For this reason, investigators can only access data to a very limited extent. Chief Prosecutor André Schmidt clarifies: "The new investigative body will not change anything about this legal framework." The strength of the central office is to bring together trained personnel who know "which data you can access and which you cannot".