[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.