Saturday, July 17, 2010

Medicare fraud bust: $251M in scams - Washington Times

Medicare fraud bust: $251M in scams - Washington Times Now this is what I call reform! Yes I know I have complained a lot about the new Health Care Reform law in the past but this is an important reform that will save us untold millions now and in the future. The old system allowed payments to continue to providers who were under investigation for fraud. Now under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) federal officials not only have the power to overhaul the Medicare system and stop paying suspected fraudulent providers, but they also have broader authority to investigate and arrest providers for fraud. This is a good thing, a necessary thing and I am thankful that it got included in the law.

Medicare and tort reform are two areas where reform can and will have an immediate positive impact on health care savings. Had Congress acted on Medicare reform alone instead of a major health care overhaul, the positive results could have built political good will and paved the way for future reforms. It is most unfortunate that precious political capital has been squandered trying to push massive ideological reforms instead of incremental practical changes that would have immediately helped people, cut costs and saved money. We can only hope that whatever future decisions are made about health care that Medicare reform will always remain because as goes Medicare, so goes the rest of the health insurance industry.

Now on to tort reform!




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