Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee see the administration's enhanced anti-fraud efforts as a key strategy to trim the federal budget, and one senator voiced interest in lifting a long-time ban on examining payments to physicians for fraud, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The senators noted the federal anti-fraud effort, which focuses on Medicare, can pay for itself and then some. The Justice Department reported antifraud activities had obtained about $3.4 billion in the year ended Sept. 30, 2010, well above their funding levels.
In addition, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking minority member of the committee, showed interest in the Wall Street Journal's new lawsuit to overturn a 32-year-old injunction against examining payments to individual physicians. "I think it’s time to revisit this issue and bring some transparency to this whole thing," Sen. Grassley said.
The American Medical Association, which obtained the 1979 injunction, continues to support the injunction, arguing that the payment data is subject to misinterpretation and opening it would violate physicians' privacy.
Read the Wall Street Journal report on healthcare fraud.
Read more coverage of federal anti-fraud activities:
- Dow Jones Sues to Open Physician Payment Database, Look for Fraud
- AMA Responds to Wall Street Journal Lawsuit on Physician Payment Data
- 10 Recent Healthcare Fraud Cases Involving Physicians
The senators noted the federal anti-fraud effort, which focuses on Medicare, can pay for itself and then some. The Justice Department reported antifraud activities had obtained about $3.4 billion in the year ended Sept. 30, 2010, well above their funding levels.
In addition, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking minority member of the committee, showed interest in the Wall Street Journal's new lawsuit to overturn a 32-year-old injunction against examining payments to individual physicians. "I think it’s time to revisit this issue and bring some transparency to this whole thing," Sen. Grassley said.
The American Medical Association, which obtained the 1979 injunction, continues to support the injunction, arguing that the payment data is subject to misinterpretation and opening it would violate physicians' privacy.
Read the Wall Street Journal report on healthcare fraud.
Read more coverage of federal anti-fraud activities:
- Dow Jones Sues to Open Physician Payment Database, Look for Fraud
- AMA Responds to Wall Street Journal Lawsuit on Physician Payment Data
- 10 Recent Healthcare Fraud Cases Involving Physicians