Today at a Committee on Finance subcommittee hearing, Sen. Chuck Grassley, rankingmember of the Finance Committee, asked Tom Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services, about the agency’s workings with the Department of Justice on the ColumbiaHCA fraud case. Grassley made the following comment about the exchange.
“Tom Scully today mentioned differences of legal opinion between the Centers for Medicareand Medicaid Services and the Justice Department over prosecuting the Columbia HCA fraud case.Mr. Scully’s comments greatly concerned me. The Justice Department is the nation’s lawyer. Assuch, the Justice Department is responsible for protecting the taxpayers against fraud. CMSabsolutely cannot undermine the Justice Department’s ability to police health care fraud. I’llaggressively pursue this with Mr. Scully and the Justice Department."
