Every year since 2010, the Department of Justice has recovered at least $2 billion from hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical firms and other health care companies for allegedly defrauding the federal government.

The big picture: Federal fraud settlements from the health care industry totaled $2.5 billion in the 2018 fiscal year alone, according to newly released figures. A look at those settlements shows the wide variety of tactics health care companies have allegedly used to steer money to themselves.

The details: A slew of allegations in large cases cropped up this year.

Exaggerating how sick Medicare Advantage patients are, leading to a $270 million settlement against DaVita.

Pressuring doctors to admit patients from emergency rooms, leading to a $260 million deal against a hospital system that is now owned by Community Health Systems.

Using a charitable foundation as a way to fund patients' drug copays, leading to a $24 million settlement against Pfizer.

Numerous settlements against hospitals and other providers for things like false billing practices or paying kickbacks for physician referrals.

What's next: The 2019 fiscal year is off to a fast start, with a few prominent settlements involving allegations of hospitals purposely overpaying for physician practices, orthopedic providers willfully gaming the billing system, and a broadening investigation into Medicare Advantage coding.

The health care industry is asking for more wiggle room on the federal law that outlaws kickbacks.

But government watchdogs will more closely scrutinize overbilling.

The bottom line: Large settlement amounts indicate the government is willing to hunt down bad actors, but also that the industry knows the health care system is still ripe for abuse — or, as the industry argues, overly burdened with regulations.