Medicare/Medicaid: Data Bank Unlikely to Increase Collections From Other
Insurers (Testimony, 05/06/94, GAO/T-HEHS-94-162).

The Department of Health and Human Services has been directed to
establish a data bank, beginning in February 1995, that would contain
information on all workers, spouses, and dependents who are covered by
employer-provided health insurance.  The goal is to save millions by
strengthening processes to (1) identify the approximately 7 million
Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who have other health insurance
coverage that should pay medical bills before Medicare and Medicaid
kicks in and (2) ensure that this insurance is appropriately applied to
reduce Medicare and Medicaid costs.  In GAO's view, however, the data
bank will end up costing millions and likely achieve little in the way
of savings.  GAO believes that changes and improvements to existing
activities would be a much easier, less costly, and thus preferable
alternative to the data bank.  This is largely because the data bank
will result in an enormous amount of added paperwork for both the Health
Care Financing Administration and the nation's employers.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-HEHS-94-162
     TITLE:  Medicare/Medicaid: Data Bank Unlikely to Increase 
             Collections From Other Insurers
      DATE:  05/06/94
   SUBJECT:  Medicaid programs
             Medicare programs
             Cost effectiveness analysis
             Federal/state relations
             Health insurance cost control
             Government collections
             Information gathering operations
             Beneficiaries
             Data bases
             Eligibility determinations
IDENTIFIER:  Medicare/Medicaid Coverage Data Bank
             
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