New York’s health insurance fraud investigators recovered $9 million and initiated 171 arrests in 2008, the New York State Insurance Department reported.

A total of 14,142 reports of suspected health care fraud were received by the insurance department’s frauds bureau last year. A total of 1,421 involved accident and health insurance, 382 involving disability insurance and 12,339 involving no-fault insurance.

The insurance department said an investigation of inflated billings by five medical providers who submitted inflated claims to the New York State Health Insurance Program was “instrumental” in generating the $9 million in recovered losses. Those medical providers also paid $78,551 in fines.

In its 2008 annual report on health fraud, health fraud investigators also point out that 11 people, including three doctors, a chiropractor, two acupuncturists, employees of a medical clinic and 10 corporations were charged with operating a medical mill that cheated insurers of $6.2 million by filing false medical insurance claims after staging auto accidents.

In another case, 62 people and two businesses were indicted on charges they participated in another staged accident ring that defrauded insurers of $1.6 million after purposefully causing 40 traffic accidents and then filing phony insurance claims.