Editorial: Stopping Fraud Should Be A First Step in Health Care Reform
It’s no secret that the health care reform legislation steamrolled through Congress late last year has lost much of its momentum. Although the headline-seizing GOP victory in Massachusetts last week only means the loss of one single Senate seat, political commentators and lawmakers have acknowledged this virtually eliminates the chance of a final health care reform bill being passed anytime soon. Indeed, last Tuesday’s events in a tiny state of only 6.5 million has thrown Capitol Hill into a tailspin, with many viewing it as a catastrophic failure of the Democratic party and Newsweek’s latest cover story referring to Obama as the “stymied President of 2010.”
What’s devastating and frustrating is that while everyone agrees the current health care system doesn’t work, apparently no one will agree or take action on how to fix it. Even the anti-health care fraud legislation introduced last year by Senators Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) and Charles Grassely (R-Iowa) hasn’t advanced since October 28 and November 16, respectively, when the bills were referred to Senate committees. Is America so far politically divided that we can’t even agree that unscrupulous practitioners stealing health care funds is wrong and needs to be stopped?
After the jump - why health care fraud affects everyone
Ramping up anti-fraud efforts hurts no one (except, of course, the wrongdoers) and helps everyone. Importantly, the health care providers who routinely bilk Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers are not only stealing money – they are draining patients’ time, health, and general well-being. Immoral physicians lie to their patients and tell them they need invasive and dangerous medical procedures when they are in fact unnecessary, such as Dr. Mark Midei, a Maryland physician who is accused of implanting medically unnecessary coronary stents in dozens of patients. Drug companies push drugs with dangerous (and undisclosed) side effects onto vulnerable elderly patients. And last week, a nationwide dental management company paid $24 million to resolve allegations that it caused bills to be submitted to state Medicaid programs for medically unnecessary procedures performed on children.
With the current political climate, Congress may not be able to pass a massive, expansive piece of legislation overhauling every aspect of the health care system. However, in the interim, we can focus on reducing the costs of health care by stopping monies from being squandered and stolen by wrongdoers. Congress should take immediate action on Senate Bills 1959 and 2774 and help protect our country’s financial resources, as well as its citizens.
