AARP Supports Bipartisan Legislation To Fight Medicare And Medicaid Fraud

Organization commends Congressman Roskam for leadership on the issue

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Feb 06, 2015, 11:40 ET

CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-6) recently introduced the PRIME Act – a bipartisan piece of legislation that aims to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare Expenditures (PRIME) Act is strongly supported by AARP.

"On behalf of the nearly 1.7 million AARP members and the over 1.9 million Medicare beneficiaries in Illinois, we applaud the introduction of the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act of 2015," said Bob Gallo, State Director for AARP Illinois. "This important, bipartisan legislation, would positively impact older Americans by curbing waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. AARP is committed to improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of our nation's health care system, and believe this bill will help improve program integrity."

Among other provisions, the bill improves upon the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP), a program that helps educate Medicare beneficiaries on how to recognize and report waste, fraud and abuse within the system. The bill also enacts stronger penalties for fraud, establishes strategies to eliminate "pay and chase" practices and reduce physician identify theft, improves the sharing of fraud data between state and federal agencies and helps states to better identify and prevent Medicaid overpayments.

"The PRIME Act is a prime example of a responsible solution for addressing Medicare and Medicaid costs and a strong first step towards reducing waste, fraud and abuse within the programs," added Gallo. "We look forward to working with Congressman Roskam and his colleagues in Congress to turn this bill into law."

The PRIME Act is sponsored in the House by Reps. Roskam (R-IL) and Carney (D-DE). AARP also commends Illinois Reps. Dan Lipinksi and Randy Hultgren for signing on as co-sponsors of the legislation.

SOURCE AARP Illinois