CareSource's Katherine Leff Elected NHCAA Board Chair

DALLAS, Nov. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) today announced that Katherine M. Leff, Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) at CareSource has been elected as the new Chair of its Board of Directors.  Leff succeeds Ralph Carpenter, Senior Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) for Aetna.

Leff has led Special Investigations for CareSource for the last nine years and currently oversees an investigative staff of 15. She is responsible for managing a successful SIU operation dedicated to preventing, identifying, investigating, mitigating, and reporting Medicaid and Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse. Leff works out of CareSource's corporate headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, where it operates one of the nation's largest Medicaid managed health care plans serving more than 1.3 million members in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. CareSource, a non-profit, mission-based health plan, is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year.

Leff has a combined 36 years of management-level experience in private, as well as, public-sector insurance. Past experience includes 28 years in private sector insurance supporting auto, life, health, disability, and long term care claims functions from various management positions.

As a Registered Nurse, Leff brings valuable clinical insight to her role and has also earned numerous professional designations including: ALHC (Associate, Life and Health Claims), CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter), CPC (Certified Professional Coder), CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner), CHC (Certification in Healthcare Compliance), as well as NHCAA's own Accredited Health Care Fraud Investigator (AHFI) designation. 

"CareSource is pleased to be associated with NHCAA and shares its mission to fight health care fraud. Kathy has been instrumental in identifying and stopping health care fraud and her extensive experience, including her clinical background, will be assets as she chairs the NHCAA Board," Mark Chilson, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, CareSource, said.

"A defining hallmark of Kathy's leadership style is her commitment to excellence and collaboration. With her decades of experience and clinical acumen, she is keenly aware of the challenges that health care fraud and abuse pose for our nation and has the vision to imagine innovative ways forward to meet those challenges," said Louis Saccoccio, Chief Executive Officer of NHCAA. "During her tenure on the Board of Directors, Kathy has already made a tremendous contribution to NHCAA. She is a strategic thinker that has the long view of where anti-fraud efforts need to go as our nation's health care system continues to evolve. NHCAA and its members are proud to have Kathy Leff serve as the 2015 Board of Directors Chair."

Looking ahead to her year as Chair, Leff said, "I am honored to have the opportunity to lead NHCAA in its fight against health care fraud. For nearly three decades, NHCAA has been the leader in healthcare anti-fraud training and a tireless proponent of the power of information-sharing to fight fraud. I look forward to continuing NHCAA's strong tradition as a private-public partnership and driving change that will protect patients from the harm of health care fraud."

Leff's election was announced in conjunction with NHCAA's Annual Training Conference in Dallas, Texas.  The Annual Training Conference is the premier event recognized as the nation's leading health care anti-fraud forum for approximately 1,200 public- and private-sector health care anti-fraud professionals.

Founded in 1985, the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association is the leading national organization focused exclusively on the fight against health care fraud. Our members comprise more than 100 private health insurers and those public-sector law enforcement and regulatory agencies having jurisdiction over health care fraud.

SOURCE National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association

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