WASHINGTON- Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, highlighted legislation introduced by Reps. John Carney (D-Del.) and Peter Roskam (R-IL) that would help combat and prevent waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. Major portions of the Carney-Roskam bill, Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act of 2015, were included in legislation agreed to by the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee yesterday. The Protecting Integrity of Medicare Act (PIMA) is a bipartisan Medicare fraud package that includes key provisions of the Roskam-Carney Prime Act of 2015. Sen. Carper has authored the Senate companion to the PRIME Act in the past sessions of Congress, and plans to re-introduce the companion bill in the coming weeks.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that our Medicare and Medicaid programs have the resources they need to provide quality care and services for our nation’s most vulnerable populations. Part of that effort means strengthening the policies and financial controls aimed at preventing waste, fraud, and abuse,” Sen. Carper said. “The Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act, which I introduced last Congress, would take common sense steps to fortify the integrity of our Medicare and Medicaid programs and ensure they remain sustainable for years to come. This legislation is what I like to call a ‘win-win’ because it protects these programs and ensures they have the resources to provide excellent care for beneficiaries while ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibility and effectively. Representatives Carney and Roskam continue to lead the effort in the House and I look forward to partnering with them again this Congress after I introduce PRIME again in the Senate in the next coming weeks.”