    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [March 25, 1997]
    [Pages 347-349]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing Proposed Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention
    Legislation and an Exchange With Reporters
    March 25, 1997

        The President. Thank you very much, Governor Chiles. And thank you,
    Secretary Shalala. Ladies and gentlemen, I also want to thank the
    representatives of the AARP who are here and others who have been very
    interested in this program.
        As all of you know, and as I have given further evidence of here
    today, I was recently reminded the hard way that our doctors and medical
    care are the best in the world. That is certainly true. I can vouch for
    the doctors and nurses in the hospital in Florida that cared for me when
    I was recently injured. I've worked hard to give all America's families
    access to quality health care, and as Governor Chiles and the Secretary
    have made clear, a critical part of that mission has to be to make sure
    that our system is free of fraud.
        Over the past 4 years, we have made real progress in our efforts to
    expand access to health

    [[Page 348]]

    care. Last year we made it possible for people to move from job to job
    without fear of losing their health insurance. Our balanced budget plan
    will provide health care coverage for up to 5 million of the 10 million
    children who don't have it. It preserves and strengthens the Medicare
    system, ensuring the life of the Medicare Trust Fund for another decade.
        Today we are taking the next steps to end the waste, fraud, and
    abuse in health care that threatens our ability to provide high-quality
    and affordable health care for America's citizens. Medicare fraud costs
    us billions of dollars every year. It amounts to a fraud tax that falls
    on all of our taxpayers but most heavily upon our senior citizens.
    Because of fraud they have to pay higher premiums and higher out-of-
    pocket costs that otherwise they would not have to pay.
        Medicare and Medicaid are more than just programs, they are the way
    we do honor to our parents, the way we strengthen our families, the way
    we care for our poorest and most vulnerable children. We cannot tolerate
    fraud that robs taxpayers even as it harms those of us to whom we owe a
    great duty.
        The law enforcement partnership described by Governor Chiles and
    Secretary Shalala has made real strides in the fight against health care
    fraud. Over the past 4 years, we have assigned more Justice Department
    prosecutors and more FBI agents to fight health care fraud than ever
    before. We've won a record number of convictions and settlements in
    fraud cases. All told, since 1992, the number of health care fraud
    convictions has increased by 241 percent. Operation Restore Trust, which
    Secretary Shalala described, has the potential to save $10 for every
    dollar invested in it.
        All of these efforts together have helped us save over $20 billion
    in health care claims. Money that would have been wasted has gone
    instead to help provide quality health care and peace of mind for
    America's families.
        Today I am pleased to announce that I will send to Congress
    legislation to continue and toughen our crackdown on fraud and abuse in
    the Medicare and Medicaid programs. First, the best way to prevent fraud
    is to keep dishonest doctors and other scam artists out of the Medicare
    system in the first place. Under this bill, a provider or supplier who's
    been convicted of fraud or another felony could be barred from joining
    the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
        For example, in Florida, our investigators found a medical equipment
    supplier previously convicted of securities fraud, and they found that
    supplier was bilking the Medicare program. He was ordered to pay $32
    million in restitution, and he's back in jail serving a 9-year sentence.
    But people like this should not be allowed to join Medicare in the first
    place. With this legislation, it's less likely that they will be able to
    do that.
        Second, our reform would improve safeguards against fraud by
    requiring anyone who wants to do business with Medicare to register with
    the Government and give us their Social Security number. This will help
    track and stop fraudsters who try to repeat their crimes setting up shop
    under phony names with dummy corporations or in new States.
        Third, the legislation will toughen sanctions so that those who
    cheat pay the price. The Government will have a stronger hand in
    imposing larger and newer civil monetary fines.
        And finally, it will close loopholes in the law that today let
    Medicare and Medicaid providers pocket overpayments from the Government
    simply by declaring bankruptcy. Under this bill, Medicare providers will
    no longer be able to avoid accountability by declaring bankruptcy.
        These steps are important. They will save the Government and the
    American people a great deal of money. They will also buy something that
    money cannot alone buy, a greater sense of security and peace of mind
    for our parents, our most vulnerable families, and children. We can and
    will preserve Medicare. We can and will make the Medicaid system work
    better and serve more children. The steps we take today will protect and
    strengthen those systems that mean so much to our families and to our
    future. And thank you all for your contributions to the effort. Thank
    you very much. [Applause] Thank you.
        And let me just say one other thing. This is my first public
    statement, I think, since coming back from Helsinki. We had a terrific
    meeting there. It was good for the United States, good for the people of
    Russia. And again, I'd like to thank my medical team for making it
    possible for me to make the trip so soon after my surgery. But it went
    fine, and it was a remarkable thing, not only the progress we made on
    NATO but especially on our commitment to slash the nuclear arsenals of
    both the United States and Russia by 80 percent from their cold

    [[Page 349]]

    war highs, within decades. So I'm very excited about it. It was a good
    meeting, and I'm glad to be back.

    Former President George Bush

        Q. Mr. President, what do you think about your predecessor's venture
    into skydiving? [Laughter] President Bush is supposed to be parachuting
    even as we speak. [Laughter]
        The President. I am mightily impressed. [Laughter] And I wish him
    well. I'm excited. I can't wait to see him get down and give us the
    story. [Laughter]

    President's Travel Plans

        Q. Are you going to have to postpone your Mexico trip because of
    your injury?
        The President. What we have decided to do, and I think we've
    announced it--we will announce it today--is to postpone the Mexico trip
    for about a month and put it where I was going to do my full Latin
    American trip to the other countries, to Central America, to South
    America, and the Caribbean. And what we're going to do is to make the
    trip to Mexico, to Costa Rica, and to Barbados, to do Central America
    and the Caribbean and Mexico during that timeframe. And then later in
    the year, we're going to go to South America and do that trip when I'm
    somewhat more mobile, because, among other things, we're going to
    Argentina and Brazil. They're big countries. There's going to be a lot
    of moving around, and I need a little more physical mobility. Besides,
    I'm hoping to ride horses and do some other things, and I'm not quite
    ready for that, as you can see.

    Medicare Fraud Initiative

        Q. Mr. President, the cornerstone of the Florida program is the
    surety bond and the on-site inspections, both of which are missing from
    your proposal. Why is that?
        The President. Do you want to comment on that?
        Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala. Yes. The on-
    site inspection is in it. On the surety bond, it's one of the things
    that we have the authority under our regulatory authority, and we'll
    have a later announcement on that.
        The President. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:32 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Lawton Chiles of
    Florida.