The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STATEMENT OF INTRODUCTION” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E761 on May 19, 2014.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENT OF INTRODUCTION
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HON. JIM McDERMOTT
of washington
in the house of representatives
Monday, May 19, 2014
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Medicaid Physician Self-Referral Act of 2014. This important legislation provides a necessary clarification to Section 1902 of the Social Security Act. The legislation provides that Medicaid designated health services claims are subject to the same requirements as Medicare designated health services claims are under the Physician Self-Referral Law. Health care providers subject to the Physician Self-Referral Law should not be able to avoid penalties under the law simply because a claim is a Medicaid claim rather than a Medicare claim. Both programs involve taxpayer money and we need to ensure the long-term solvency of the Medicaid program, just as we do with the Medicare program.
The Department of Justice, mindful of this, has worked to bring causes of action against providers under the False Claims Act involving violations of the Physician Self-Referral law--even in the Medicaid context. In one recent case, the Department of Justice relied on 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396b(s), which provides that a state shall not receive federal reimbursement for a claim submitted through the Medicaid program if the same claim would be rejected under the terms of the Medicare program, had the service been covered by Medicare instead of Medicaid.
It is important to align Title XIX with other provisions involving the Physician Self-Referral Law and the Medicaid program. Thus, while the law has always provided that the Medicaid and Medicare programs were on equal footing vis-a-vis the Physician Self-Referral Law, this clarification makes this clear and leaves no doubt that Congress intends this to be the case.
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