[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 160 (Tuesday, October 17, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H10120-H10121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      REPUBLICANS WEAKEN FRAUD AND ABUSE PROVISIONS IN THEIR BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Levin] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro] for talking about this issue, and I would 
like to say a few words as a Member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
  Mr. Speaker, we worked on this issue. I was deeply disappointed with 
the product that came out of the committee: $270 billion in Medicare 
cuts in order to pay for a tax break, mostly for wealthy families, is 
bad enough, doubling the monthly premium for seniors in part B, the 
physician and other provider part of Medicare, is bad enough, 
especially when we take into account, for example, looking at Michigan, 
that 85 percent of the seniors in Michigan have an income annually of 
less than $25,000 and $15,000 is the annual income of 70 percent of the 
seniors.
  So doubling the premium is bad enough, Mr. Speaker, but the 
Republicans went further and they weakened the fraud and abuse 
provisions of Medicare. They weakened them.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to refer to a few documents. There are two sets 
of penalties involved: one is criminal, where there is intentional 
serious fraudulent action; and the other is monetary civil penalties, 
where the offense is less serious. Both of them are weakened.
  The criminal is weakened by adding a provision requiring that the 
significant 

[[Page H 10121]]
purpose of the effort must have been inducing essentially fraudulent or 
other similar activity.
  On this, here is what the Justice Department says, Mr. Speaker. This 
is of the Republicans that is now in the bill that will be before us on 
Thursday. ``The proposed amendment will seriously undercut our anti-
kickback enforcement efforts''. This is the Justice Department. The 
Republicans did not listen to them.
  Here is what the Inspector General of the Health and Human Services 
department says. ``These proposals would cripple the efforts of law 
enforcement agencies to control health care fraud and abuse in the 
Medicare program and to bring wrongdoers to justice''.
  Here is what the GAO says about the change in the Republican bill in 
the criminal statute. ``The effect could well be to make it easier to 
disguise the intent behind kickback arrangements or make disguises 
currently used more effective in evading prosecution''.
  In a word, Mr. Speaker, when it comes to criminal sanctions against 
fraud and abuse, the bill that will be before us on Thursday would make 
it much more difficult and would weaken our efforts. And, look, the HHS 
IG points out that the GAO estimates loss to Medicare from fraud and 
abuse at 10 percent of total Medicare expenditures, or about $18 
billion.
  Why then, Mr. Speaker, are the Republicans weakening these 
provisions?
  There is also a weakening of the monetary provisions, the civil 
provisions, and, here again, there is no reason to do it. Here is what 
the GAO says. ``We agree with the Inspector General of HHS that this 
new definition of `should know', which essentially would require proof 
of reckless activity, would, as drafted, significantly curtail 
enforcement under the Medicare civil monetary penalty provisions''. 
Significantly curtail enforcement.
  Now, why is this being done? The Washington Times, October 4, the 
headline is GOP's Medicare plan takes hit for weakness in stopping 
fraud. Why are the Republicans doing this? It is terribly misguided.
  Searching for a reason, the Speaker, on October 12, said this. ``The 
speaker defended GOP moves to reduce penalties and enforcement efforts 
against Medicare fraud by saying it is more important to lock up 
murderers and rapists than dishonest doctors''.
  I think the answer is, Mr. Speaker, we can do both. We should, 
obviously, lock up everybody, everybody who is convicted of murder and 
rape. However, that is not an excuse to let dishonest providers off the 
hook.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge everybody to take a look at this. This Republican 
effort is terribly misguided.

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