[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1947 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1947

  To increase criminal penalties for health care fraud, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             March 17 (legislative day, February 22), 1994

   Mr. Kohl introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To increase criminal penalties for health care fraud, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health Care Anti-Fraud Act of 
1994''.

SEC. 2. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR HEALTH CARE FRAUD.

    (a) Offense.--Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after chapter 50A the following:

                    ``CHAPTER 50B--HEALTH CARE FRAUD

``Sec.
``1101. Health care fraud.
``1102. Definitions.
``Sec. 1101. Health care fraud
    ``(a) In General.--Whoever, in or affecting interstate commerce, 
knowingly--
            ``(1) executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or 
        artifice to defraud to obtain a health care payment; or
            ``(2) presents to any person any statement as part of, or 
        in support of, a claim for a health care payment, knowing that 
        such statement contains any false or misleading information 
        concerning any fact or thing material to such claim;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, 
or both.
    ``(b) Aggravated Offenses.--In an offense under subsection (a) of 
this section--
            ``(1) if the offender knowingly or recklessly causes 
        serious bodily injury to an individual or knowingly or 
        recklessly endangers the life of a person, the offender shall 
        be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 15 years, 
        or both; and
            ``(2) if the offender knowingly or recklessly causes the 
        death of an individual, the offender shall be fined under this 
        title or imprisoned not more than 25 years, or both.
``Sec. 1102. Definitions
    ``As used in this chapter--
            ``(1) the term `health care payment' means a payment for 
        health care services or health care products, or the right to 
        have a payment made by a third party payer for specified health 
        care services or products; and
            ``(2) the term `third party payer' means any person, public 
        or private, who undertakes to indemnify another against loss 
        arising from a contingent or unknown event.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the beginning of 
part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to chapter 50A the following new item:

``50B. Health care fraud....................................   1101.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect January 1, 1995.

SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 50B of title 18, United States Code, as 
added by section 2, is amended by inserting after section 1102 the 
following new section:
``Sec. 1103. Indentification of community service opportunities
    ``The Attorney General shall--
            ``(1) in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services and State and local health care officials, 
        identify opportunities for the satisfaction of community 
        service obligations that a court may impose upon the conviction 
        of an offense under section 1101 or an offense under section 
        1128B of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b), and
            ``(2) make information concerning such opportunities 
        available to Federal and State law enforcement officers and 
        State and local health care officials.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such chapter 50B 
is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``1103. Identification of community service opportunities.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on January 1, 1995.

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