    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 4 (Monday, January 31, 2000)]
    [Pages 133-134]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    The President's Radio Address

    January 22, 2000

        Good morning. In just a few days, I will report to the American
    people and the Congress on the State of the Union, and I'll propose new
    ways to meet the many challenges of this exciting new century. One of
    the most important challenges we have is strengthening and modernizing
    Medicare. Today I want to give you a progress report on our efforts to
    do just that, through our ongoing fight against fraud, waste, and abuse
    in the Medicare system.
        For more than 30 years now, Medicare has helped us fulfill one of
    our most fundamental obligations, to protect the health of older
    Americans. But when I became President, Medicare was projected to go
    bankrupt by 1999. Since I took office, we have made tough choices to
    strengthen Medicare. We've extended the life of the Trust Fund until at
    least 2015, with better management not only of Medicare but of the
    economy and by waging a sustained campaign against Medicare fraud.
        Medicare fraud and waste are more than an abuse of the system;
    they're an abuse of the taxpayer. By overbilling, charging for phony
    procedures, and selling substandard supplies, Medicare cheats cost
    taxpayers hundreds of millions a year. That's why we've assigned more
    Federal prosecutors and FBI agents than ever to fight this kind of
    fraud, and why we've invested in new tools to investigate and prosecute
    these crimes. All told, our efforts have prevented the wasteful spending
    of an estimated $50 billion, and aggressive enforcement has recovered
    nearly $1.6 billion for the Medicare Trust Fund.
        Today I'm releasing two reports that show just how effective this
    fight against fraud has been. Americans can be proud. The first report
    shows that in 1999 we recovered nearly half a billion dollars in fines
    and settlements and returned three-quarters of that to the Medicare
    Trust Fund. The second report, on Medicare integrity, shows our success
    in catching fraudulent claims and preventing $5.3 billion worth of
    inappropriate payments in the last year alone. So when it comes to
    prosecuting fraud and abuse, we're doing more than filing cases; we're
    also winning convictions.
        In the last year, convictions in health care fraud cases shot up by
    a fifth, for an increase of more than 410 percent since I became
    President. Just this week the Department of Justice won another
    important victory for Medicare beneficiaries. A health care company had
    been bilking Medicare by sending patients for needless tests and
    procedures. The more tests providers ordered, the more kickbacks they
    got in return--lavish dinners, yacht trips. Federal prosecutors took the
    company to court and won the largest such settlement in history,
    recovering nearly half a billion dollars.
        The more cases we win, the more criminals we convict, the clearer
    the message becomes: Medicare fraud is a serious crime with serious
    consequences.
        Though our efforts are stronger than ever, Medicare contractors
    still pay false claims totaling in the billions. That is simply
    unacceptable. So today I'm announcing a new initiative to crack down on
    fraud and abuse in Medicare. My balanced budget for 2001 will create a
    team of Medicare fraud fighters--one in the office of every Medicare
    contractor in America--and take other new steps to ensure that our
    response to fraud is coordinated and quick. The budget also funds new
    technologies to track false claims.
        I urge Congress to make these investments and to give Medicare the
    authority to bid competitively for contractors who administer the
    program, as well as for services provided directly to beneficiaries.
        Medicare is vital to the health of our Nation. It's too important
    ever to be compromised. If we take these steps to reform

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    and strengthen Medicare, and if we modernize it with a voluntary
    prescription drug benefit, then we will adapt a program that has worked
    in the past to the needs of the future.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 12:26 p.m. on January 21 at the
    California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA, for broadcast at
    10:06 a.m. on January 22. The transcript was made available by the
    Office of the Press Secretary on January 21 but was embargoed for
    release until the broadcast.