In June of 2011, I reported on this blog about a software program being launched by the federal Department of Health and Human Services to use a technology called predictive modeling to identify fraudulent and abusive billing practices on a prepayment basis.  The program, known as the Fraud Prevention System, was funded through the The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and carried an initial price tag of $77 million.  According to the Associated Press, initial results are back on use of the Fraud Prevention System and they are pretty disappointing.  Specifically, according to a recent article published by the AP, the program identified only a single case of fraud which resulted in him him him him him him him Medicare savings totaling $7,591. 

Medicare officials say it’s too early to judge the system’s effectiveness and, on its blog, the White House stated on Friday that "predictive modeling has identified 2,500 leads for further investigation, 600 preliminary law enforcement cases under review and resulted in 400 direct interviews with providers who would not have otherwise been contacted."   Clearly there are some bugs in the system to be worked out but it appears that HHS is not yet ready to pull the plug on the program.