"Sentinel effect" shows fraud control effort works

The author analyzes the fraud and abuse track record of his agency in the past years, and discuss why that effort has had beneficial results for the healthcare industry and the federal fisc. The benefits of this enforcement effort flow directly from the specific enforcement actions, and indirectly from the response of others in the industry to the standards set forth in those actions. Mr. Thornton disputes assertions of some in the industry that the enforcement efforts are unfair, arbitrary, or draconian. Rather, they are an appropriate response to a documented problem with which the government is justifiably concerned.