Senator Mel Martinez Probes for Details on Agency Medicare Fraud Strategy

Sen. Martinez requests briefing on joint DoJ & HHS health care fraud plan

June 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today called for a briefing from the departments of Justice (DoJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) on their interagency effort to combat Medicare fraud.

Article continues below...

Specifically, Senator Martinez is asking for the departments to provide information about the data-driven approach to prevent and detect Medicare fraud, plans to identify new geographic areas requiring targeted enforcement, the strategy to conduct on-site verification of medical equipment suppliers, compliance training for Medicare providers, and efforts to strengthen compliance and enforcement in Medicare Parts C and D.

"Congress can't stress strongly enough the need for a strategic, comprehensive response to this type of pervasive fraud. Using a targeted enforcement plan and employing the resources necessary to fight fraud is worth the investment," said Martinez, the lead Republican on the Senate's Special Committee on Aging. "Medicare fraud siphons away billions of dollars that could otherwise be used to provide health care for millions of seniors and persons with disabilities. The federal government must ensure that those who are Medicare beneficiaries receive high quality health care and that the integrity of these programs is protected."

Senator Martinez commended the DoJ and HHS for their Medicare fraud enforcement tactics that have been successful in South Florida and Los Angeles. Through the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, DoJ and HHS will now expand their Medicare fraud enforcement tactics to cities such as Houston and Detroit. Recently, Senator Martinez introduced the Seniors and Taxpayers Obligation Protection or "STOP" act, which will work to reduce the billions of taxpayer dollars stolen every year by creating Medicare fraud prevention and detection systems. In particular, the STOP Act would protect seniors and doctors from identity theft, keep criminals from becoming Medicare providers, and strengthen data mining and matching to catch criminals currently engaged in Medicare fraud.

Source: Senator Mel Martinez