WASHINGTON, USA – Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after the US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Justice announced that the Trump administration had executed a criminal takedown related to health care fraud – including schemes involving Medicare, Medicaid, hospice care, and stolen identities of deceased beneficiaries, 455 alleged criminals, and over $6.5 billion in stolen taxpayer dollars:
“The Trump administration continues to demonstrate an unprecedented commitment to combatting waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars whenever and wherever they occur,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08).
“This latest, wide-ranging takedown of fraudsters and criminals that stole billions from the American people is another victory in the ongoing fight to protect taxpayers and the beneficiaries these programs are meant to serve. The actions taken by the Trump administration underscore the urgent need to protect taxpayers from fraudsters with legislation like what the Ways and Means Committee passed and safeguard our health care and welfare programs so they are not harmed by criminals in the future. Whether it is going after individuals and companies that are gaming the system, strengthening our defenses against international crime syndicates, or holding accountable state and local authorities – like those in California or Minnesota – that looked the other way while the American people were being robbed, Congress will continue to work with the Trump administration to ensure no stone is left unturned.”
The Ways and Means Committee has held multiple hearings and advanced several pieces of legislation to combat fraud and recover stolen taxpayer dollars – including within Medicare’s home health and hospice care programs, durable medical equipment (DME) payment program, COVID-era unemployment insurance, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. During an April hearing focused on Medicare fraud – which alone costs taxpayers $60 billion every year – the Committee heard testimony about fraudsters masquerading as hospice providers operating from a burrito stand and a tire store in California. Another witness testified about how she needed physical therapy services but had her Medicare claims denied because her benefits had been stolen and she had been falsely classified as a hospice patient.
Among the legislative solutions that have been advanced by the Committee are policies requiring:
- More in-person inspections to verify the legitimacy of hospice and home health care providers and increased penalties for those failing to submit quality data on their activities;
- Timely reimbursement submissions from DME suppliers to better detect fraud;
- Greater federal scrutiny and additional guardrails on states spending federal TANF funding to help the truly needy;
- Better coordination with financial institutions to recover the nearly $1 billion in fraudulent COVID-era unemployment benefits frozen in banks; and
- An extension of the statute of limitations for prosecuting pandemic unemployment fraud to provide law enforcement more time to prosecute fraudsters.
Click here for additional details on the most recent fraud takedown from the Trump administration.
READ: Ways and Means-Approved Policies Fight Fraud in Critical Safety Net Programs