[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 151 (Thursday, November 29, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H6514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             MLR AND FRAUD

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Yesterday, we had an Energy and Commerce Health 
Subcommittee hearing on how we can combat waste, fraud, and abuse in 
our health care system. We heard from private sector representatives 
about some of the innovative ways that they prevent fraud before it 
happens. At the same time, Medicare loses billions of dollars annually 
because most fraud is only discovered after it has been perpetrated.
  Now, under ObamaCare, we have a new medical loss ratio rule, or MLR, 
that may actually create perverse incentives for private insurers to 
behave like Medicare. Some have suggested that the consumer protections 
provided by the MLR rule are too important to subject the rule to 
change in order to prevent fraud. Setting aside whether individuals or 
employers have received the benefit of the MLR rule, clearly the best 
way to save money is prevent it from being stolen in the first place, 
not chasing criminals after they have received and spent their illicit 
gains.
  The flawed MLR rule is just another example of how ObamaCare's sloppy 
legislating and rulemaking has the potential to cost the American 
people dearly.

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