Are Democrats soft on fraud?
Last night’s 60 Minutes segment on medical fraud made for great tv. The piece featured an interview with a disguised fraudster, provided good footage of empty store-front medical suppliers that were billing millions and even included a minor confrontation with a Medicare anti-fraud manager about the lousy job she and the government are doing to combat fraud.
And there were no shortages of memorable quotes.
From an FBI agent: “We have seen cases in the last six, eight months that involve a couple of guys that if they weren’t stealing from Medicare might be stealing your car.”
From the fraudster, when asked how many people in Miami were actively involved in Medicare fraud: “I’d say at least 2,000 people.”
And on and on . . .
There wasn’t much new in the report for the anyone connected to the anti-fraud effort. These scams have been going on for a long time and now are becoming larger and bolder. Last week CNN published an online story under the headline “Organized crime’s new target: Medicare and Medicaid.” The only thing new is perhaps some in the federal government (and the news media) have just discovered organized crime’s tenacles reach deep into federal health insurance.
The focus on organized crime and medical fraud comes at an opportune time as Congress is getting deeper into a final healthcare reform proposal. We’re eager to see the bill that Sen. Harry Reid will soon send to the full Senate. Will it contain adequate anti-fraud firewalls? Don’t hold your breath.
For some inexplicable reason, Democrats have exposed themselves as being soft on fraud by not including tough anti-fraud provisions in health care reform. Following the 60 Minutes piece, conservative columnists and bloggers cited the loss of billions of taxpayers dollars as further evidence that the federal government can’t be trusted to expand current programs that are already mismanaged.
That’s even more reason Congress needs to get serious about anti-fraud measures in the upcoming bill.
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) is considering offering an amendment when the bill hits the Senate floor to enhance the government’s anti-fraud efforts, including stepping up coordination among federal agencies, states and the private sector. He staked out his position in a letter to the Senate leadership last week, in which he wrote:
“Health reform will be incomplete without meaningful steps to attack fraud in health care . . .I am concerned that anti-fraud resources are uncoordinated and scattered through the public and private sectors. Criminals do not distinguish between private and public insurance, and it is far more efficient to coordinate anti-fraud efforts than to pursue separate initiatives. We need inter-agency collaboration including the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services to exchange expertise and best practices related to the analysis, detection and prevention of fraud, waste and abuse in health care.”
Spot on. Let’s hope other Senators heed Sen. Franken’s call and enact tough-minded reforms that have the potential to make a greater dent on curbing fraud. Perhaps then, no one will accuse Democrats — or anyone in the federal government — of being soft on fraud.
