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A partisan brawl dominated much of the health care reform debate, but on at least one issue, the two warring political parties agreed: It was time to halt the taxpayer rip-off stemming from health care fraud. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act thus contains a number of provisions to strengthen the government’s capacity to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in federal and state health programs. Through amendments to existing criminal, civil, and administrative antifraud statutes, the provisions beef up the traditional “pay now, chase the crooks later” approach that has long characterized government health programs. But they also reveal a new focus on fraud prevention that reflects what Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius describes as the Obama administration’s “zero tolerance” for fraudulent activities. |
