CMS Program Integrity Command Center Visit

Statement

I want to start by thanking all of you for your hard work and commitment to stamping out fraud and abuse from our health care system.

This is the latest step in an effort that began over three years ago, when President Obama asked Attorney General Holder and me to make fraud prevention a cabinet-level priority.

Up to that time, not only had we failed to devote sufficient resources to health care fraud prevention. We were also following an outdated "pay-and-chase' approach that always left us three steps behind.

But standing here today, it's clear how far we have come in just 3 short years.

Together, we've provided new resources to help law enforcement catch criminals.

We've established tougher sentences for those who got caught.

And this command center really is the heart of a new approach built around preventing fraud and abuse. We're using cutting edge technology that allows us to analyze claims in real time, so we can spot those bad actors and phony claims before they can do major damage.

There was a time not very long ago, when the terrific work I just saw unfold over a matter of minutes, right here, would have taken hours if not days. The data and analysis would slowly make its way from agency to agency, from analysts to investigators to law enforcement, by phone or even on paper files.

Now it happens all at once and the people who need to know about it are right here in this room -- a vital space for agencies to do the important team-work that's key to winning this battle against fraud and abuse.

That's why it is great to see all of our partners engaged here today.

So thank you all again for your service. We're making a difference. We're preventing more false claims. We're catching more criminals. And we're saving more taxpayer dollars.

Ultimately, that means we're making it clear to everyone that targeting our health care system doesn't pay.

Thanks.

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