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“THE PROBLEM OF MEDICARE FRAUD AND ABUSE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H10120 on Oct. 17, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE PROBLEM OF MEDICARE FRAUD AND ABUSE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro] is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to kick off a series of 5-minute special orders this evening to address the growing problem of Medicare fraud and abuse. It is shameful that Members of Congress have been virtually denied the opportunity to discuss the leadership's proposal to cut Medicare by $270 billion, and it is unprecedented its rollback of Medicare fraud law enforcement.
The Republican plan would devastate Medicare to pay for a tax giveaway for the wealthy, but it also misses a golden opportunity to fix a major problem with Medicare. In fact, it actually makes this serious problem worse. The GOP plan actually will make it easier for Medicare cheats to get away with their health care scams. This plan rips off American taxpayers and American seniors.
Many of us are genuinely concerned with strengthening the Medicare system, and we have urged a crackdown on Medicare fraud. I am happy that some of my colleagues have joined with me tonight to talk about this critical issue. I am proud to commend the gentleman from Michigan
[Mr. Levin] for his commitment to combatting fraud and abuse in Medicare. The gentleman from Michigan plays a key role on the Committee on Ways and Means in the effort to toughen the punishments for fraud and strengthening our enforcement capabilities.
I would like to recognize the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Durbin], an original cosponsor of my legislation, the Health Care Prosecution Act, to combat fraud and abuse in our health care system. The gentleman has been a leader in the fight to defeat the GOP's Medicare cuts and to restore integrity to the Medicare program for our elderly.
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I also would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Frank Pallone, and the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Sherrod Brown, for joining us tonight. Their work on the Committee on Commerce to remedy fraud and abuse in the Medicare system has been invaluable.
We are here tonight, Mr. Speaker, to let the American people know that the Republican bill does not, let me repeat, it does not toughen enforcement measures. It does not even defend the status quo. Far worse, the Republicans turn back the clock on Medicare fraud enforcement.
Just today, Mr. Speaker, the Inspector General of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department that monitors, the policemen, if you will, the fraud that occurs in the health care system said that the Republican proposal would make it harder for the government to obtain convictions under an anti-kickback statute, and, in fact, would cripple the Justice Department's ability to crack down on health care fraud.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that stopping the growing problem of fraud could save as much as $80 billion. And despite this evidence, the GOP plan does nothing to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse. That is because the plan has nothing to do with fixing Medicare, it has everything to do with providing the Republicans' rich political supporters with a fat tax giveaway.
Mr. Speaker, while I am sadly disappointed, I am not surprised, as the Washington Times, not exactly a liberal publication, reported last week Speaker Gingrich dismissed the necessity of cracking down on Medicare cheats by suggesting that we have insufficient jail space to lock up all the crooks in the system. The GOP shows no hesitation to crack down on the elderly, the sick, the disabled, the poor, and the young in their plan. But when it comes to targeting the real bad guys, the Republicans suddenly express concern about inadequate vacant correctional facility space.
The congressional leadership is not interested in correcting and punishing the criminal elements in the Medicare system. However, I have introduced legislation in this Congress, the Health Care Prosecution Act, to do just that. My bill stops health care cheats in their tracks. It retrieves the financial losses in restitution and fines and it puts the criminals behind bars so that they are unable to pull off more health care scams in the future.
Further, my legislation establishes a temporary health care fraud and abuse commission to study the nature and the extent of fraud in our system. This blue ribbon panel would make recommendations to Congress on innovative approaches to attack fraud.
Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of good ideas out there about how to attack Medicare fraud, waste and abuse. I am sorry that my Republican colleagues have chosen to pursue none of that.
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be joined by additional colleagues tonight who will also address this issue of Medicare fraud and abuse and the way that we might address it, and that it is not addressed in the Republican proposal.
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