WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health today reviewed six bills authored by committee members to strengthen the Medicaid program by closing loopholes and eliminating fraud in the program. Next Friday, the Health Subcommittee will continue its effort to improve the Medicaid program with a hearing to review four more bills that will improve the program for beneficiaries.
Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA) said, “It is my hope that through the policies we discuss today, and through future actions by this committee, we can work together on a bipartisan basis to boost Medicaid program integrity, while making the program more sustainable, accountable, and transparent."
John Hagg, Director of Medicaid Audits at the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, testified, “Given the growth of the Medicaid program, OIG believes it is critical that we continue to conduct effective oversight to ensure that funds are spent appropriately and that steps are taken to improve the quality of care for Medicaid beneficiaries."
Today subcommittee members discussed:
* The Ensuring Terminated Providers are Removed from Medicaid and CHIP Act, authored by Rep. Larry Buchson, M.D. (R-IN). This bill addresses issues raised in a recent report from the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General that found health care providers terminated from Medicaid in one state were still participating in Medicaid and CHIP programs in other states.
* H.R. 1570, the Medicaid and CHIP Territory Transparency Act, a bipartisan bill authored by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL). H.R. 1570 requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to include similar information on the Medicaid and CHIP Programs in the territories on its website as it provides to the states. Bilirakis said, “As a committee we have to make some big policy decisions, and regardless of your policy views, we have to have all the data, all the information to understand the problem and exercise proper oversight over the program, if we are to attempt to address these problems going forward."
* H.R. 1771, authored by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), would close a loophole identified by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office by counting portions of income from annuities of a community spouse as income available to institutionalized spouses for purposes of determining Medicaid eligibility for long-term care services. Nico Gomez, the Chief Executive Officer of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, testified, “The passage of H.R. 1771 would help stem the exploitation of Medicaid funds that the courts permit because they believe the law is not sufficiently clear."
* Legislation authored by Subcommittee Chairman Pitts. Pitts explained H.R. 2339 is “a common-sense proposal to give states better options to how lottery winnings are calculated for purposes of Medicaid eligibility. I hope we can all agree that multi-million dollar lottery winners should not be eligible to receive Medicaid - which is precisely the problem in current law that my bill would fix."
* H.R. 2446, the Electronic Visit Verification System Required for Personal Care Services Under Medicaid, authored by Subcommittee Vice Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY). This bill requires states to have in place an electronic visit verification system for personal care services. Guthrie said, “Medicaid personal care services are becoming increasingly more important as the need for them continue to grow. However, there is also a growing concern about the high levels of improper payments in this area. My bill will help address these concerns by requiring states to adopt an EVV system to verify the date, time, and site of visit, as well as the provider of the services. This is critical to ensure that beneficiaries receive the services they need."
* H.R. 3444, the Medicaid and CHIP Territory Fraud Prevention Act, authored by Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN). This bill would encourage territories to create Medicaid Fraud Control Units, an idea that was included in the president’s budget.
Read complete testimony and legislative text from today’s hearing online here.
