State issues $34.9 million in grants to investigate comp fraud

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has awarded $34.9 million in grants to district attorney offices in the state to fight workers compensation insurance fraud, the California Department of Insurance said in a statement. 

Grant funding was received from workers comp policy assessments from California insured and self-insured employers. The grants support law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute comp insurance fraud, according to the statement on Thursday.

The grants will be used to investigate such schemes as medical provider fraud, employer premium fraud, claimant fraud and “willfully uninsured (employers) operating in the underground economy,” the statement said.

“Ultimately, California consumers and businesses pay the price for insurance fraud through higher premiums and increased costs for good and services,” Mr. Jones said in the statement.