[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 95 (Wednesday, July 20, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      DEFEATING HEALTH CARE FRAUD

  (Mr. HOBSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, last week, Senator Bill Cohen released a new 
report stating that this country loses $100 billion each year to health 
care fraud. The blatant offenses against the Medicaid and Medicare 
systems cited by this report are common and everyday.
  Such examples include a supplier overbilling by 600 percent for a 
diabetic monitor, and doctors billing for treatments they had never 
performed or had performed on patients who had died.
  These are the kinds of thing that go on and on without detection for 
years. It is costly to taxpayers, and it is compromising our Nation's 
health care.
  In the present system, there is no easy way to catch this abuse. But 
my colleague from Ohio, Tom Sawyer, and I have introduced a bill that 
will detect and eliminate much of this abuse and fraud. It is called 
the Health Information Modernization and Security Act. And it has 
already been incorporated into three out of four committee bills passed 
in the House and Senate.
  With the time drawing short in this Congress to achieve comprehensive 
health care reform, there are several provisions worthy of inclusion in 
any bill that is passed. This is one of them, and I urge my colleagues 
to ensure its inclusion in any bill that passes this Chamber.

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