M E M O R A N D U M
To: Reporters and Editors
Re: Health care fraud announcement
Da: Monday, Jan. 24, 2011
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on the Administration’s announcement that the federal government has recovered more than $4 billion in taxpayer dollars from fraud in federal health care programs. Grassley has a significant record on fighting health fraud, including tax dollars recovered through the federal False Claims Act, which he enhanced as the Senate sponsor of improved whistleblower improvements in 1986.
“When fighting fraud, some is good, and more is better. There is a lot more that Congress should pass in the way of reforms to enhance the government’s ability to fight fraud, and there’s a lot more the government should do to fully use the tools it has already. On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on fraud, where I’ll ask Administration officials directly how exactly these numbers add up, what is working, what isn’t working, and what more can be done.
“I’ll also reintroduce my comprehensive fraud-fighting bill in this new Congress and keep the pressure on federal officials to do everything possible to prevent and stop fraud. The experts say about five to eight percent of Medicare and Medicaid spending is fraud. That’s $44 billion to $70 billion every year. The new announcement accounts for about $4 billion in fraud. So we’ve got a long way to go. Every dollar that is lost to fraud shortchanges taxpayers and the beneficiaries who rely on these programs.”
News releases on Grassley’s efforts to seek details on health care fraud convictions from the Administration and on his legislation to combat health care fraud follow here.
Click here for Grassley’s December 23, 2010 press release regarding Medicare fraud.
Click here for Grassley’s January 28, 2010 press release regarding waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP.