Fraud by Home Health Care Workers and the Criminal Justice Response

Abstract

Research in the medical literature suggests that the investigation of fraud in the home health care field grew significantly throughout the 1990s. Although criminologists have examined health care fraud by physicians, virtually no criminological research has assessed crime within the home hath care industry. This article attempts to fill that void by considering the kinds of home health care offenses that are investigated by fraud control units throughout the United States. Content analysis is performed on 247 reported incidents of home health cue abuses. Finding indicate that home health care professionals commit offenses that are similar to, yet different from, those that are committed by doctors. The importance of community service as a sanction for these offenders, and the need for background checks, are considered. Support for conflict theory and general systems theory emerges as well.