Government Steps Up Fight Against Opioid Epidemic Through Fraud and Abuse Enforcement

>On August 2, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the formation of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit.¹ According to the DOJ’s press release, the pilot program will “utilize data to help combat the devastating opioid crisis that is ravaging communities across America.”² The announcement represents a continuation of the federal government’s focus on fraud and abuse related to the opioid epidemic. This article will explore the history of those efforts and discuss the DOJ’s new pilot program.