Preventing, Detecting, and Deterring Fraud in Social Health Insurance Programs : Lessons from Selected Countries

This paper draws lessons from anti-fraud experiences in social health insurance programs of six selected countries across the income spectrum: Indonesia, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Croatia, Turkey, and the United States. A standardized que...

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Main Authors: Chabra, Sheena, Menon, Rekha, Postolovska, Iryna, Smith, Owen, Tandon, Ajay, Ulep, Val
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/204671543466503538/Preventing-Detecting-and-Deterring-Fraud-in-Social-Health-Insurance-Programs-Lessons-from-Selected-Countries
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31013
id okr-10986-31013
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-310132021-05-25T09:20:28Z Preventing, Detecting, and Deterring Fraud in Social Health Insurance Programs : Lessons from Selected Countries Chabra, Sheena Menon, Rekha Postolovska, Iryna Smith, Owen Tandon, Ajay Ulep, Val SOCIAL HEALTH INSURANCE FRAUD ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES CIVIL SERVICE REFORM HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY This paper draws lessons from anti-fraud experiences in social health insurance programs of six selected countries across the income spectrum: Indonesia, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Croatia, Turkey, and the United States. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect information on how the programs prevent, detect, and deter fraud. The questionnaire was supplemented by a literature review and conversations with key informants. The analysis summarizes similarities and differences in the legal framework, institutional mechanisms, and capacity to manage fraud. Across all countries, the primary responsibility for managing fraud lies with the public entity that administers the program. In terms of capacity, all program-administering agencies have dedicated anti-fraud units and staff. In addition, all countries have specific anti-fraud policies and guidelines that address fraud and have a clear operational and legal definition of fraud. In terms of preventing fraud, the use of pre-authorization screening for high-end procedures is common. For detecting fraud, most countries use anti-fraud ‘hotlines’ and encourage other forms of reporting of suspected fraudulent behavior; the use of ‘red flags’-triggers that identify suspicious claims based on deviations from norms, is also common. The level of sophistication in using data analytics to detect potential fraud, however, varies across countries. Social health insurance programs in higher-income countries are more likely to use advanced statistical and data-mining techniques compared to those in lower-income countries. All programs across all countries undertake post-reimbursement medical claims and beneficiary audits. In terms of deterring fraud, sanctions often include the use of financial penalties, cancellation of contracts, and criminal prosecutions; however, in most countries, public providers are not penalized and prosecuted to the same degree as private providers. 2018-12-18T21:27:45Z 2018-12-18T21:27:45Z 2018-11 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/204671543466503538/Preventing-Detecting-and-Deterring-Fraud-in-Social-Health-Insurance-Programs-Lessons-from-Selected-Countries http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31013 English Health, Nutrition and Population Discussion Paper; CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Working Paper Publications & Research
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic SOCIAL HEALTH INSURANCE
FRAUD
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM
HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY
spellingShingle SOCIAL HEALTH INSURANCE
FRAUD
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM
HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY
Chabra, Sheena
Menon, Rekha
Postolovska, Iryna
Smith, Owen
Tandon, Ajay
Ulep, Val
Preventing, Detecting, and Deterring Fraud in Social Health Insurance Programs : Lessons from Selected Countries
relation Health, Nutrition and Population Discussion Paper;
description This paper draws lessons from anti-fraud experiences in social health insurance programs of six selected countries across the income spectrum: Indonesia, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Croatia, Turkey, and the United States. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect information on how the programs prevent, detect, and deter fraud. The questionnaire was supplemented by a literature review and conversations with key informants. The analysis summarizes similarities and differences in the legal framework, institutional mechanisms, and capacity to manage fraud. Across all countries, the primary responsibility for managing fraud lies with the public entity that administers the program. In terms of capacity, all program-administering agencies have dedicated anti-fraud units and staff. In addition, all countries have specific anti-fraud policies and guidelines that address fraud and have a clear operational and legal definition of fraud. In terms of preventing fraud, the use of pre-authorization screening for high-end procedures is common. For detecting fraud, most countries use anti-fraud ‘hotlines’ and encourage other forms of reporting of suspected fraudulent behavior; the use of ‘red flags’-triggers that identify suspicious claims based on deviations from norms, is also common. The level of sophistication in using data analytics to detect potential fraud, however, varies across countries. Social health insurance programs in higher-income countries are more likely to use advanced statistical and data-mining techniques compared to those in lower-income countries. All programs across all countries undertake post-reimbursement medical claims and beneficiary audits. In terms of deterring fraud, sanctions often include the use of financial penalties, cancellation of contracts, and criminal prosecutions; however, in most countries, public providers are not penalized and prosecuted to the same degree as private providers.
format Working Paper
author Chabra, Sheena
Menon, Rekha
Postolovska, Iryna
Smith, Owen
Tandon, Ajay
Ulep, Val
author_facet Chabra, Sheena
Menon, Rekha
Postolovska, Iryna
Smith, Owen
Tandon, Ajay
Ulep, Val
author_sort Chabra, Sheena
title Preventing, Detecting, and Deterring Fraud in Social Health Insurance Programs : Lessons from Selected Countries
title_short Preventing, Detecting, and Deterring Fraud in Social Health Insurance Programs : Lessons from Selected Countries
title_full Preventing, Detecting, and Deterring Fraud in Social Health Insurance Programs : Lessons from Selected Countries
title_fullStr Preventing, Detecting, and Deterring Fraud in Social Health Insurance Programs : Lessons from Selected Countries
title_full_unstemmed Preventing, Detecting, and Deterring Fraud in Social Health Insurance Programs : Lessons from Selected Countries
title_sort preventing, detecting, and deterring fraud in social health insurance programs : lessons from selected countries
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2018
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/204671543466503538/Preventing-Detecting-and-Deterring-Fraud-in-Social-Health-Insurance-Programs-Lessons-from-Selected-Countries
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31013
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