WASHINGTON — The Obama administration and major insurers announced Thursday they will share raw data and investigative know-how on a scale not previously seen to try to shut off billions of dollars in questionable health-care payments.

At a White House event with insurance executives, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the new public-private partnership will allow government programs and the insurance industry to take the high ground against scam artists.

“Lots of the fraudsters have used our fragmented health care system to their advantage,” Sebelius said. “By sharing information across payers, we can bring this potentially fraudulent activity to light so it can be stopped.”

State investigators are also part of the effort.

Fraud is an endemic problem plaguing giant government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and is a headache also for private insurers. But many of the details of the new partnership have yet to be worked out. It doesn’t even have a budget, officials said. However, the goal is to start producing results in six months to a year.