The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) today announced that Rick E. Munson, Vice President of Investigations at UnitedHealthcare, has been elected as the Chair of the NHCAA Board of Directors. Munson succeeds Nicholas J. Messuri, Esq., Vice President of Fraud Prevention & Recovery and Deputy General Counsel at DentaQuest.
Munson joined UnitedHealthcare in 2009 to lead the company's Investigations Team, which is responsible for detection, prevention and investigation of alleged fraud and abuse across the nation involving Medicare, Medicaid and commercial plans.
Munson has more than 30 years of experience in leadership positions across the private and public sectors, including more than 20 years in law enforcement. His law-enforcement career includes five years as a police officer and 18 years with the State of Minnesota – split between the Department of Commerce as Chief Investigator, and Manager of Investigations in the Attorney General's Office. While with the Attorney General's Office, Munson coordinated complex white-collar crime cases relating to Public Corruption, Organized Crime, Insurance Fraud and Securities Fraud. Several of the cases he worked on resulted in multimillion-dollar criminal convictions.
Munson also spent 11 years at Medica Health Plans as Senior Director of Special Investigations and Compliance, where he developed a Special Investigations Unit that brought more than 20 health care fraud cases to state and federal prosecutors resulting in criminal prosecution and conviction.
"Rick has generously served NHCAA for several years, sharing his wide-ranging experience with his industry peers. His pragmatic, common-sense approach has always benefited the Association, particularly when he has served as faculty at many NHCAA training programs. These qualities will also be valued assets as he leads our Board of Directors in the coming year," said Louis Saccoccio, Chief Executive Officer of NHCAA. "Rick brings a unique perspective that embodies the quintessential, seasoned law-enforcement agent as well as the tenacious private-sector fraud fighter, and we are proud to have him serve as Chair of the 2017 Board of Directors."
Looking ahead to his year as Chair, Munson said: "I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as Chair of the NHCAA as it continues in its fight against health care fraud. For more than 30 years, NHCAA has been the leader in health care anti-fraud training and a proponent of the power of collaboration and information-sharing to fight fraud. I look forward to continuing NHCAA's unwavering commitment to a private-public partnership and driving positive and lasting change that will protect patients from the harm of health care fraud."
Munson's election was announced in conjunction with NHCAA's Annual Training Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The Annual Training Conference is the premier event recognized as the nation's leading health care anti-fraud forum for approximately 1,300 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 committed against both private payers and public programs.
