Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Congressional fraud hawks aren't backing down.

A few long-time fraud hawks have a bone to pick with the Department of Health and Human Services over its 2005 budget request.

With new Medicare legislation stepping up the number of providers and contractors -- and potential fraudsters -- where is the matching increase for the HHS Office of Inspector General?

That's just what Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) wants to know in a Feb. 6 letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. In a showing of "strong support" for similar requests from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), Stark nixed the present budget, which contained no increase in funding for fraud and abuse enforcement and decreased the staff for the agency.

"Funding for the OIG must be increased sufficiently to allow them to effectively continue their oversight responsibilities," says Stark. "Given the loss of senior staff that occurred during Inspector General [Janet] Rehnquist's tenure, it seems that the Department should be increasing, not decreasing, staff for this office," he adds.

The money should come from the $1 billion set aside for implementation of the new Medicare law, the letter says. More funding should also be allocated to state health insurance assistance programs in order to adequately educate beneficiaries on the new Medicare legislation.