$2.5 billion recovered for Medicare trust fund

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government says it recovered $2.5 billion in overpayments for the Medicare trust fund last year as the Obama administration focused attention on fraud enforcement efforts in the health care industry.

In a report, the Justice Department and the Health and Human Services Department say their cooperative efforts are showing results as they put investigative resources in areas where health care fraud is especially widespread. Those areas include South Florida; Los Angeles; Houston; Detroit; New York City's Brooklyn borough; Baton Rouge, La.; and Tampa, Fla.