US House bill to double Medicare fraud penalties
Published: 2010-07-18 18:24:00By: KELLI KENNEDY | Business Week | April 13, 2010
Medicare fraud suspects would face longer prison sentences under a U.S. House bill proposed Tuesday that also advocates biotechnology such as fingerprint scanning to ensure patients are getting the goods the government is billed for.
Authorities have warned Medicare fraud, an estimated $60 billion annual crime, is now more lucrative than dealing drugs. Until now the penalties have been far less severe.
For example, a Medicare scammer could easily net at least $25,000 a day while risking 5-10 years in prison if convicted on a single count. A cocaine dealer could take weeks to make that amount while risking up to life in prison.
The bill is sponsored by U.S. Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-FL, and U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-FL, both from South Florida, which has long been ground zero for the fraud. Miami-Dade County alone generates more than $3 billion a year.
The Medicare Fraud Enforcement and Prevention Act will double prison sentences from 5 to 10 years and fines from $25,000 to $50,000 for Medicare fraud-related crimes.
The bill would also create a new crime for illegally distributing patients' Medicare or Medicaid IDs or billing information, which would carry a maximum 3-year sentence.
After years of serving in Florida's state Legislature, Klein says he repeatedly hears frustrations about Medicare fraud from his senior constituents.
"They don't want to hear that billions of dollars are coming out of a system that they depend on and going to fraud and criminal activity," he said.