United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-05-06 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:HEHS-94-147 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-147 P0b002ee180389ba8 f:he94147 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-147 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-147 HEHS-94-147 Medicaid programs Medicare programs Cost effectiveness analysis Federal/state relations Health insurance cost control Beneficiaries Information gathering operations Medical expense claims Data bases Medicare/Medicaid Coverage Data Bank Letter Report HEHS 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. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Medicare/Medicaid: Data Bank Unlikely to Increase Collections From Other Insurers, by Leslie G. Aronovitz, Associate Director for Health Financing Issues, before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. GAO/T-HEHS-94-162, May 6, 1994 (four pages). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-147/html/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-147.htm GAO/HEHS-94-147 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-147 Letter Report GAO/HEHS-94-147; Medicare/Medicaid: Data Bank Unlikely to Increase Collections From Other Insurers; Medicaid programs Medicare programs Cost effectiveness analysis Federal/state relations Health insurance cost control Beneficiaries Information gathering operations Medical expense claims Data bases Medicare/Medicaid Coverage Data Bank