Ottawa Times - Kinzinger Promotes Medicare Fraud Reforms

News Article

by Steve Stout

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Wheaton, joined Republican congressional candidate Adam Kinzinger in Ottawa Thursday to publicize Roskam's legislative proposal to utilize sophisticated computer technology to fight the growing problem of Medicare fraud across the nation.

Roskam's bill, the Fighting Fraud with Innovative Technology Act (HR 5546), proposes taking predictive modeling computer software technology, similar to programs now in use by the credit card industry, to identify potential fraudulent Medicare claims.

"In America today, when the national debt is large enough to hold back an economic recovery, we should be eliminating every wasted penny in every corner of the budget," said Roskam, a minority member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

With Kinzinger by his side, the suburban congressman explained Medicare fraud is now costing taxpayers nearly $60 billion annually. Roskam claimed his high-tech solution would stop fraudulent payments before they happen.

Roskam said, with the national debt ballooning to more than $13 trillion, the federal government should "embrace this type of technology to reduce fraud, waste and abuse and save some of the taxpayers' money.

He said the government currently spends time and resources on detecting fraud and applying penalties after the fact instead of preventing false claims.

"By applying this predictive modeling technology used by the credit card industry to keep fraudulent transactions to a minimum, this legislation has the potential to save taxpayers billions in improper payments over the next decade," said Roskam.

Kinzinger praised the plan. He said, "I applaud Congressman Roskam for this innovative solution to combat a very expensive problem. (Once elected,) I look forward to helping him pursue passage of this legislation and working toward other innovative solutions to our nation's challenges."

Turning to Roskam, Kinzinger said, "I thank the congressman for his willingness to travel to the 11th District to highlight this exciting proposal to reduce waste. It represents the type of innovative thinking that all parties should be able to rally around, but the current majority has seemingly been unwilling to advance."

Promising bi-partisan effort if elected to office, the candidate said, "Essentially, Roskam wants to root out fraud in a different, logical way. We've seen what works in the private sector -- let's bring a similar approach to the federal level and save taxpayers billions in the process."

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