WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, released the following statement to highlight efforts by the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program to recover billions of taxpayer dollars in health care-related fraud and abuse.
The Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program is a joint effort between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice to identify and prosecute instances of health care-related fraud and abuse in programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The annual report released today by HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Attorney General Eric Holder revealed that in fiscal year 2014, the program recovered over $3.3 billion taxpayer dollars. The report details that for every $1.00 invested in anti-fraud activities, $7.70 is recovered.
“Today’s report from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice demonstrates that the Administration is taking commendable action to tackle waste, fraud and abuse in health care spending – and seeing real results,” said Sen. Carper. “Every year, Medicare and Medicaid programs lose billions of dollars to fraudulent and criminal activity. While there’s no silver bullet to stop all instances of health care fraud and abuse, there are a number of proven and effective preventive measures. The $3.3 billion returned to our nation’s pocketbook through the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program reminds us that we should double down on our efforts to combat waste and fraud. In the coming weeks, I plan to reintroduce the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures Act, which would take common sense steps to fortify the integrity of Medicare and Medicaid, and yield better stewardship of the dollars we entrust to those programs. I look forward to continuing my work with the Administration and my Congressional colleagues to provide additional tools and resources for reducing healthcare fraud.”
The PRIME Act of 2013 was originally introduced by Sen. Carper, former-Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), and Reps. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and John Carney (D-Del.) in June 2013. In February 2015, Reps. Roskam and Carney reintroduced the legislation as the PRIME Act of 2015, which was included in legislation agreed to by the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee in the Protecting Integrity of Medicare Act (PIMA).