Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week kicked off the first in a series of regional healthcare fraud prevention summits in Miami, Fla.

The summit brought together federal, state and local partners, beneficiaries, providers and other interested parties to talk about innovative ways to eliminate fraud within the U.S. healthcare system.

“Despite all that’s been accomplished over the last year, we cannot yet be satisfied or become complacent,” Holder said. “And we cannot ignore the fact that health care fraud remains a significant problem. Each of you can be part of this and other public education efforts. Each of you can help to ensure that our health reform achievements are not exploited.”

Thanks to new tools contained in the Affordable Care Act, “we are more prepared than ever to safeguard taxpayer dollars and ensure that the healthcare coverage of our seniors, families and children is secure,” Sebelius said.

The summit featured educational panels that discussed best practices for both providers and law enforcement in preventing healthcare fraud. The panels included law enforcement officials, consumer experts, providers and representatives of key government agencies.