HHS: AWARDS GRANTS TO FIGHT MEDICARE FRAUD
The Clinton administration yesterday awarded more than $2.25This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
million in grants for new programs to complement Medicare's anti-
fraud measures. The grants are funded under a provision of the
of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act,
signed last year by President Clinton. The "Health Care Fraud
and Abuse Control Grants," which will be administered by the
Health Care Financing Administration, the Health and Human
Services inspector general and the Department of Justice, will
provide nine state agencies and the District of Columbia, the
Department of Defense and the Internal Revenue Service with more
than $1.5 million. The grants will cover the cost of audits,
prosecutions and consumer education. Among the larger state
grants is $300,000, shared by California and New York, to develop
an automated system for managing fraud investigations and
prosecutions. The Alabama Office of the Attorney General was
awarded $232,700 to train investigators to do computer search and
seizures and use other modern techniques for health care fraud
prosecution. In addition, the Colorado Department of Health Care
Policy was awarded $213,334 to look for loopholes that foster
fraud and abuse where health care programs overlap.
AOA GRANTS
HHS' Administration on Aging awarded an additional 15 anti-
fraud grants totaling $750,000. The grants will be used to
expand "Operation Restore Trust," the health care anti-waste,
fraud and abuse program developed in 1995, to 12 new states. The
program is currently operating in five states and, according to
HHS, has identified $23 in waste for every one dollar expended.
STATEMENTS
HCFA Administrator Bruce Vladeck said, "Money spent to fight
fraud and abuse is money well spent, as our ongoing [anti-fraud]
efforts clearly show that returns far exceed expenditures." HHS
Secretary Donna Shalala noted the importance of state and federal
agencies working collaboratively to fight fraud. She said, "The
fight against Medicare fraud and abuse is a joint effort. It
requires federal, state and local officials working together. We
must continue to identify existing problems, take action against
those who violate the law, and work with Congress to close
loopholes and stiffen laws and penalties" (HHS release, 8/21).