LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, February 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The first-of-its-kind resource documents 2025’s wound care compliance failures to help hospitals avoid regulatory pitfalls in nation’s fastest-growing fraud sector.
Wound Care Advantage (WCA) today released the first annual Compendium of Wound Care Compliance Failures, documenting the compliance violations that cost Medicare billions and landed dozens of providers in federal court and prison in 2025.
The timing matters. With Medicare spending on skin substitutes alone exceeding $10 billion annually and 8 million Americans living with non-healing wounds, federal enforcement has intensified. The June 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown charged 324 defendants with $14.6 billion in fraud.
“After 30 years in this industry, I’ve seen too many providers fail patients because they prioritized profit over compliance,” said Mike Comer, CEO and Founder of Wound Care Advantage. “This Compendium raises the standard and educates our industry to do better.”
The Pattern: From Billion-Dollar Schemes to Everyday Violations
The inaugural Compendium examines cases ranging from a $1.2 billion fraud operation—where defendants were arrested at Phoenix airport with copies of “How to Disappear” and “Criminal Law Handbook”—to a $45 million settlement against a major wound care provider for an EMR system that automatically added improper billing codes. In one case, Medicare paid $138 million for grafts applied by a nurse practitioner who exercised zero independent medical judgment. “Sales reps called every shot,” explains Comer, “That’s not medicine. That’s fraud.”
Why This Matters Now
This isn’t isolated fraud—it’s a nationwide pattern the DOJ is actively hunting. Enforcement spans hospital programs, clinics, mobile wound care, and distributors. Clean audits offered no protection, and whistleblowers from inside organizations triggered multiple prosecutions. The message is clear: federal investigators know these schemes exist everywhere, and they’re not stopping until they find them.
Each case includes “Failure Flags”, specific red flags that triggered investigations, and practical lessons to prevent similar violations.
WCA has operated wound centers nationwide since 2002. This annual Compendium serves as a compliance tool, not a hall of shame. “Every case here started with something someone should have caught,” Comer said. ”A billing flag, an unchecked sales rep, an EMR override. This isn’t a hall of shame. It’s a playbook to keep hospitals out of the next headline.”
Free Download Available
The complete 2026 Compendium of Wound Care Compliance Failures is available for free download at thewca.com/compliance.
About Wound Care Advantage
Wound Care Advantage (WCA) is the nation’s leading wound center consultancy, helping hospital networks optimize clinical outcomes, compliance, and profitability across their wound care and hyperbaric medicine programs. Founded 24 years ago on the mission that every community deserves access to advanced wound care and hyperbaric medicine, WCA has partnered with over 200 wound centers nationwide. Learn more at thewca.com.
Chris Schellenbach
Wound Care Advantage
email us here
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