Antelope Valley Today

Representative Mike Garcia (CA-27) has put forth H.R. 8089, known as the Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act, aimed at combating healthcare fraud. The legislation seeks to enhance and streamline the Medicaid validation process across all 50 states to tackle fraud and abuse in healthcare.

In a statement, Rep. Garcia emphasized the importance of the bill, stating, "Every dollar stolen from our healthcare programs is one dollar too many." He further highlighted the significance of Medicare and Medicaid, expressing concern over the challenges posed by rising costs, fraud, and abuse, which could potentially undermine the integrity of these vital programs. Garcia added, "This bipartisan bill is a common-sense step toward better protecting your healthcare and ensuring these critical resources are going to those who need it most."

The Medicare and Medicaid programs collectively allocate $1.6 trillion annually. Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi Grimm recently raised alarm over the increasing number of fraudulent claims received each year, stressing the urgency to address and curb such illicit activities.

The proposed Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act incorporates a practical recommendation from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The bill aims to mandate states to cross-reference the Social Security Administration Death Master File before reenrolling Medicaid providers automatically. This measure is intended to enable states to deactivate the National Provider Identifiers (NPI) of deceased providers, thereby preventing any misuse of such identifiers by fraudulent actors targeting Medicaid or Medicare.