Martinez: Medicare Fraud Fight Worthy of Joint Agency Operation

Press Release

U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today commended the Departments of Justice (DoJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) for their decision to focus on detecting, preventing, and prosecuting Medicare fraud cases.

"Medicare fraud is out of control - especially in my home state of Florida. Billions of dollars are lost every year to health care fraud - dollars that could otherwise be used to help care for the elderly and disabled. Any action to combat fraud is a good step," said Martinez, lead Republican on the Senate's Special Committee on Aging. "Now Congress needs to act to provide the tools necessary to better identify fraud early and stem the tide of fraud that DoJ and other law enforcement agencies must later investigate and prosecute."

This month, 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 in Medicare in real time. It would require the HHS to no longer use Social Security Numbers as the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) on Medicare cards, thus reducing fraud and identity theft among seniors. The STOP Act will also help to improve HHS's detection methods and place billing statements under increased scrutiny.

"DoJ and HHS's focus on Medicare fraud sends a signal to criminals and those contemplating engaging in fraud that there is a significant price to pay for committing Medicare fraud. I look forward to working with them and my colleagues in Congress to support strong fraud-fighting measures as we seek to reform health care," said Martinez.

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