General assembly aim Medicare and Medicaid Fraud

The federal government should continue to intensify their efforts to help in the fight fraud involving Medicare and Medicaid to more savings to pay for the Review of the health system to generate the legislature Wednesday.

"The extent of fraud in the health sector in the U.S. today is staggering," said the chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said in the hearing. "Now the reform, the focus will shift as health by the Senate, to make sure we do everything we combat fraud that could jeopardize efforts to reduce the costs fealty care of the clouds."

Health examination of the legislation moving in Congress includes, provisions aimed at strengthening efforts to combat fraud with the government. The United States to health lost about 60 billion dollars in health care fraud each year, some estimate the cost estimates as high as 10% of the total health of the nation, the cost of caring for more than $ 2 billion. Medicare covered the state insurance program for elderly and disabled, and Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor, are especially vulnerable. The government has announced a series of allegations of fraud in Medicare and Medicaid in the past two years, including the fees, beginning this week with a medical clinic in Mississippi.

Senator John Cornyn (R. Texas has said that the government does not know the officers why Medicare and Medicaid, higher private insurance fraud, especially since Congress is considering the creation of a program have federal insurance. "I'm sure you have enough good outweigh the bad guys in this area." Cornyn said asking Health and Human Services and Justice Department officials: "What you can do to reduce them?"

Bill Corr, Assistant Secretary of HHS, said HHS and the Department of Justice are making progress, especially through special equipment to detect fraud. However he agree that the task is enormous. Medicare, testified that he received 4.4 million requests per day, they have to pay 14 to 30 days.

Medicare spends more than $ 400 billion per year, revisions to only 3% of the claims, he said. Report that Medicare improperly paid more than $ 10 billion in loans in the fiscal year to 30 September 2008.

Mr. Corr has senators that the government claims 311 million U.S. dollars to remember the fight healthcare fraud in the current fiscal year, or 113 million more than last year.

Investigations by the Office of the Inspector General of HHS have led to collections of $ 4 billion for fiscal 2009, against 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in fiscal year 2008, he said. The facilities, he said, also focused South Florida, Los Angeles and other areas where fraud is widespread. The assertions of the medical team, a perennial favorite, the fraudster have been reduced by 63%, or 1.75 billion U.S. dollars in Florida since March 2007 and February 2008, Mr. Corr testimony.

Attorney General, said Tony West, the Department of Justice focused on the bad behavior of pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers. Last month, the Ministry 2.3 billion U.S. dollars agreement with Pfizer Inc. has reached for his promotion of certain medications, Regulation largest health fraud to the department. In January, Eli Lilly & Co., an agreement with the Institute for 1.4 billion U.S. market for anti-psychotic Zyprexa.

On Wednesday, Mr. Leahy asked, and five Democrats, including Ted Kaufman, of Delaware Arlenerlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the legislation that the time to make fraud For Health prison under the law of supply and then the government 20 million U.S. dollars more per year until 2016.