The U.S Senate Special Committee on Aging met to discuss prevention of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, which costs taxpayers more than $60 billion a year, according to Sen. Mel Martinez, ranking member of the committee.
Martinez said in a statement following the hearing: "Entitlement fraud is out of control and we have 60 billion reasons why it needs to be addressed."
Martinez chaired the meeting, which brought together Daniel R. Levinson, inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services, along with U.S. attorneys and businessmen from the healthcare field. Some of the conversations focused on Florida, which, according to witnesses, has a significant amount of fraud. R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the U.S. Department of Justice, told the committee that his district prosecuted 245 individuals in 2008 for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid of nearly $800 million.
Full Article and Source:
Senate Special Committee on Aging addresses Medicare, Medicaid fraud in special hearing
Martinez said in a statement following the hearing: "Entitlement fraud is out of control and we have 60 billion reasons why it needs to be addressed."
Martinez chaired the meeting, which brought together Daniel R. Levinson, inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services, along with U.S. attorneys and businessmen from the healthcare field. Some of the conversations focused on Florida, which, according to witnesses, has a significant amount of fraud. R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the U.S. Department of Justice, told the committee that his district prosecuted 245 individuals in 2008 for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid of nearly $800 million.
Full Article and Source:
Senate Special Committee on Aging addresses Medicare, Medicaid fraud in special hearing
There is a heavy penalty on the taxpayers when their government fails to protect them from this type of fraud.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that the Senate Special Committee on Aging is looking at Medicare and Medicaid fraud, but I don't think they are realizing that much of that fraud is caused by guardianship.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good beginning. Now we need them to connect the dots!
ReplyDeleteThe amount that they are aware of going down the drain to crooks is staggering!!!
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt this will get worse and it is worse than reported. I saw this on the TV news and my blood was BOILING OVER! I wanted to throw my cast iron pot at my TV set to release my rage.
What will the Senate Special Committee on Aging suggest, do to try to begin correct the decades long failure of the Medicare and Medicaid authorization system to release payment to con artists?
Florida's one of the states that should really be taking a hard look at the cost of guardianship abuse to the taxpayers.
ReplyDelete$800 million is an amount hard to fathom.
ReplyDeleteHow much of that $800 mil is due to guardianship?
How much could be saved if the guardianship racket were fixed?
Those who profit do not want the guardianship racket exposed or fixed.
ReplyDeleteThe powerful special interest groups lobby and bribe the law makers to legislate for their survival and profit.
The media is imperative in shining the bright light on the dirty secrets of the guardianship system.