Two senators have written a letter to Marilyn Tavenner, the acting administrator of CMS, asking her what steps the agency will take to reduce fraud under her leadership.
Tom Coburn, MD, (R-Okla.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) — members of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee — expressed deep concern over the billions of dollars lost to Medicare and Medicaid fraud each year. They said a number of "straightforward solutions" recommended by the OIG and GAO to curb fraud have still not been implemented.
The senators asked Ms. Tavenner two specific questions: (1) what steps CMS is taking to implement recommendations from the OIG and GAO and when they will be carried out, and (2) how many members of the CMS integrity staff are using Google Earth — a free service on the Internet — to match provider addresses with physical locations before bills are paid. This second strategy is meant to identify fake shell companies from receiving federal reimbursement.
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Tom Coburn, MD, (R-Okla.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) — members of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee — expressed deep concern over the billions of dollars lost to Medicare and Medicaid fraud each year. They said a number of "straightforward solutions" recommended by the OIG and GAO to curb fraud have still not been implemented.
The senators asked Ms. Tavenner two specific questions: (1) what steps CMS is taking to implement recommendations from the OIG and GAO and when they will be carried out, and (2) how many members of the CMS integrity staff are using Google Earth — a free service on the Internet — to match provider addresses with physical locations before bills are paid. This second strategy is meant to identify fake shell companies from receiving federal reimbursement.
Related Articles on CMS and Fraud:
AHA Asks CMS, OIG to Finalize ACO Fraud & Abuse WaiversOIG: CMS Accepted $15.1M in Prescriptions Written by Excluded Providers
Senators Call for Better Metrics to Assess CMS' Predictive Modeling Program for Fraudulent Claims