2019 Appalachian Region Opioid Takedown

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, with our Federal and State law enforcement partners, participated in the largest ever prescription opioid law enforcement operation. The Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Surge Takedown resulted in charges against 60 individuals, including 53 medical professionals, for their alleged participation in the illegal prescribing and distributing of opioids and other dangerous narcotics and for healthcare fraud schemes.

The charges involve over 350,000 prescriptions for controlled substances and over 32 million pills in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, and Tennessee. More than 24,000 patients in the region who received prescriptions from these medical professionals over the past 2 years are affected by the law enforcement activity. This effort demonstrates the positive impact the Medicare Fraud Strike Force is making in our communities.

RESOURCES

• DOJ Press Release
• Report: Concerns About Opioid Use in Medicare Part D in the Appalachian Region (OEI-02-18-00224)
• Featured Topic: Combatting the Opioid Epidemic
• Medicare Fraud Strike Force
• Medicaid Fraud Control Units

Last updated March 4, 2021