N.C. Governor Bev Perdue announced Wednesday a series of measures to crack down on medicaid fraud, waste and abuse that costs taxpayers millions of dollars eac year. The steps include stronger investigation and prosecution of potential abusers, including new Medicaid SWAT teams, better use of technology to detect and prevent abuse, and a campaign to encourage the public and providers to report suspected abuse. A new software system will bring the detection of potential Medicaid fraud into the 21st century by quickly analyzing thousands of Medicaid claims and flagging suspicious cases, says the governor. Once identified the cases will go to specially trained investigators.