NTU urges all Representatives to vote “YES” on H.R. 6690, the “Fighting Fraud to Protect Care for Seniors Act.” This bipartisan legislation would help reduce waste, fraud and abuse within the Medicare program by testing the use of smart card technology.
Federal health care programs have long been plagued by improper payments, one component of which is attributable to fraudulent activities such as identity theft, billing for services never rendered, or falsifying patient records to obtain prescription drugs illicitly. While the total cost of fraud and improper payments is unknown, studies have pegged the number between three and ten percent of all Medicare and Medicaid dollars spent.
H.R. 6690 aims to cut down on these improper payments by deploying credit card style technology to Medicare recipients. Specifically, H.R. 6690 would allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to employ electronic authentication of the identity of a Medicare beneficiary at the point of service through a combination of the smart card and a personal identification number known by or associated with such beneficiary.
This proposal will allow government to test innovative tools to better protect American taxpayers and seniors. The result would be a system highly resistant to ID theft, with sufficient data capacity on each beneficiary’s card to significantly reduce other undesirable outcomes, improve care, and encourage a more efficient use of taxpayer funds
Current improper payment reduction efforts will likely continue to produce only incremental gains for taxpayers over the coming years. The federal government must do better, and HR 6690 is one vital way of demonstrating this commitment to taxpayers.
Roll call votes on H.R. 6690 will be included in our annual Rating of Congress and a “YES” vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.
If you have questions, please contact NTU Policy and Government Affairs Associate Thomas Aiello at (631) 697-4840