WASHINGTON U.S. law enforcement officials have charged 301 suspects with trying to defraud Medicare and other federal insurance programs in 2016, marking the "largest takedown" involving health care fraud allegations, the Justice Department said on Wednesday. The national sweep resulted in charges against doctors, nurses, pharmacists and physical therapists accused of fraud that cost the government $900 million, the department said. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said some of the cases reflect new, troublesome trends, including instances of identity theft in order to prepare fake prescriptions and a growing number of cases involving compounding, or the mixing of medications tailored to meet a patient's needs.
