§249. FORFEITURES FOR FEDERAL HEALTH CARE OFFENSES.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996

TITLE II—PREVENTING HEALTH CARE FRAUD AND ABUSE; ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLIFICATION

(a) In General.—Section 982(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after paragraph (5) the following new paragraph:

‘‘(6) The court, in imposing sentence on a person convicted of a Federal health care offense, shall order the person to forfeit property, real or personal, that constitutes or is derived, directly or indirectly, from gross proceeds traceable to the commission of the offense.’’.

(b) Conforming Amendment.—Section 982(b)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or (a)(6)’’ after ‘‘(a)(1)’’.

(c) Property Forfeited Deposited in Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund — (42 USC 1395i)

(c)(1) In general.—After the payment of the costs of asset forfeiture has been made and after all restoration payments (if any) have been made, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit into the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund pursuant to section 1817(k)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act, as added by section 301(b), an amount equal to the net amount realized from the forfeiture of property by reason of a Federal health care offense pursuant to section 982(a)(6) of title 18, United States Code.

(c)(2) Costs of asset forfeiture.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘‘payment of the costs of asset forfeiture’’ means—

(c)(2)(A) the payment, at the discretion of the Attorney General, of any expenses necessary to seize, detain, inventory, safeguard, maintain, advertise, sell, or dispose of property under seizure, detention, or forfeited, or of any other necessary expenses incident to the seizure, detention, forfeiture, or disposal of such property, including payment for—

(c)(2)(A)(i) contract services;

(c)(2)(A)(ii) the employment of outside contractors to operate and manage properties or provide other specialized services necessary to dispose of such properties in an effort to maximize the return from such properties; and

(c)(2)(A)(iii) reimbursement of any Federal, State, or local agency for any expenditures made to perform the functions described in this subparagraph;

(c)(2)(B) at the discretion of the Attorney General, the payment of awards for information or assistance leading to a civil or criminal forfeiture involving any Federal agency participating in the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Account;

(c)(2)(C) the compromise and payment of valid liens and mortgages against property that has been forfeited, subject to the discretion of the Attorney General to determine the validity of any such lien or mortgage and the amount of payment to be made, and the employment of attorneys and other personnel skilled in State real estate law as necessary;

(c)(2)(D) payment authorized in connection with remission or mitigation procedures relating to property forfeited; and

(c)(2)(E) the payment of State and local property taxes on forfeited real property that accrued between the date of the violation giving rise to the forfeiture and the date of the forfeiture order.

(c)(3) Restoration payment.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Federal health care offense referred to in paragraph (1) resulted in a loss to an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to such employee welfare benefit plan, from the amount realized from the forfeiture of property referred to in paragraph (1), an amount equal to such loss. For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘‘restoration payment’’ means the amount transferred to an employee welfare benefit plan pursuant to this paragraph.