AARP Supports Legislation to Crack Down on Fraud, Waste and Abuse in Medicare and Medicaid

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, AARP sent the following letter in support of the newly proposed Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare Expenditures (PRIME) Act (H.R. 2305/S. 1123), legislation that seeks to curb fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

June 10, 2013

Dear Senators Carper and Coburn/Dear Representatives Roskam and Carney:

AARP is pleased to endorse the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare Expenditures Act (otherwise known as the PRIME Act) which you are introducing today. This bipartisan legislation seeks to curb waste and fraud from both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Waste, fraud, and abuse increase the cost of health care for both the beneficiary and the system at large.

AARP is committed to improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of our nation’s health care system, and we share your interest in combating fraudulent and wasteful practices.

For years AARP has been working to fight health care fraud, including efforts to educate our members about what they need to know in order to protect themselves and report fraudulent activity when it occurs. Therefore, we are especially pleased to see that your legislation would improve upon the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP), which helps educate beneficiaries to detect and report waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program.

Beyond the SMP, your bill addresses many of the deficiencies regularly documented in Medicare and Medicaid program integrity efforts. Medicare’s contractor systems, for instance, are improved in order to prevent errors. Medicaid will benefit from greater data sharing between the Federal government and State programs. Moreover, beneficiaries of both programs will be protected by strengthening penalties for identity theft.

We thank you for your leadership on efforts to eliminate fraud in the health care system. The PRIME Act is a strong first step toward reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in our public health programs. We look forward to working with you to enact this bill, and other program integrity measures in the future. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Ariel Gonzalez of our Government Affairs staff at xxxxxxxxx@aarp.org or xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

Joyce A. Rogers

Senior Vice President

Government Affairs

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