Doctor's Caucus Press Releases
GOP Doctors Caucus & 3 House Committees Raise Concerns about $3 Billion Medicare Fraud Scheme
Washington,
March 7, 2024
Tags:
Health Care
Washington, D.C. - After public reports of a large-scale, year-long Medicare fraud scheme involving catheter billing, GOP Doctors Caucus co-chairs, and leaders from the House Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Oversight and Accountability committees, are seeking a briefing from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General (IG) Christi Grimm and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. In a new letter, the lawmakers request briefings from the HHS IG and CMS by March 20, 2024, regarding what steps are being taken to address this reported fraud and prevent its reoccurrence. KEY LETTER EXCERPTS: “It is imperative that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General take immediate action to reduce improper payments and ensure that taxpayer dollars are directed towards the care of our senior citizens whom Medicare is intended to serve. “Based on the information that is publicly known to date, the scale of the alleged catheter billing fraud, affecting over 450,000 Medicare beneficiaries, may represent a significant failure by CMS and HHS OIG. This dramatic, multifold increase in catheter billing—from just a handful of companies—should have been quickly identified and addressed. If public reports about the apparent ease with which this fraud was perpetrated are accurate, they raise questions about the efficacy of current CMS and the HHS OIG fraud detection and prevention measures. In addition, there are stakeholder concerns that a similar increase in fraud has occurred in diabetes supplies, and that this increase may be evidence of a new fraud against the Medicare program.” BACKGROUND:
Members signing the letter include:
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