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“Stop Paying the Crooks” author Jim Frogue on efforts to reduce Medicare fraud and make the program more streamlined.
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Many thanks.
Okay Tennessee federal judge has just awarded the federal government 82 million dollars from three companies involved in the Medicare fraud scheme.
Prosecutors say the companies improperly billed Medicare by using a sham company that was not independent as required.
And -- -- all too common and it's costing taxpayers doing me a lot -- Joining us now is Jim broke founder of -- Clark government relations.
Jim well continue so if you are one of the millions of people who depends.
On Medicare knowing its future is already in jeopardy news of this pervasive fraud must just be infuriating.
It really is any amount is far greater than most people gas.
It's at least in the hundreds of billions of dollar here across Medicare and Medicaid which is more than enough to cover a lot more people to really need to do it that way.
And in -- a better idea the extent at this Medicare fraud when you say it's worse than we realized.
Businesses people who's doing it and again if he did the dollar value is to start dropping.
It is an across the political spectrum people agree that it's that significant ARP.
6060 minutes.
The institute of medicine came out report earlier this year has had a third.
Of all of our health spending is waste part of that is fraud abuse part of it is just excessive use and overuse and misuse.
But a lot of -- at about 800 billion dollars.
-- that you're instrumental in putting the Ryan budget together calls for some of the most aggressive spending cuts Medicare cuts.
You know when you shed a little bit -- light on the underbelly of this program it's kind of good or for political purposes -- Well I think certainly people are coming after him for political purposes -- Paul Ryan deserves tremendous credit for having the courage and honesty to put forth.
A very aggressive very thoughtful approach and he does very well that back in his home district -- -- -- leans to the left.
-- -- some -- Republicans are already bailing on the -- budget because of what it does.
To Medicare I mean is there compromise here.
Well remember in the house he got 238 -- sport only four against on the Republican side that's pretty -- And in the senate he got forty votes for -- which is obviously not a majority.
But when they put president Obama's budget up next it -- 97 to nothing so in the United States senate Paul Ryan's budget was much more popular than the president.
OK so the politics aside though I mean where's the compromise here.
On is there a way -- -- -- -- get the best solution for Medicare Medicaid and Social Security all the entitlements are.
Really under the microscope right now also in a way that politicians aren't at risk of losing the next vote.
Well the politics are gonna go anytime soon these are very popular very controversial programs.
But Paul -- you about -- went out there with a real plan -- the people who criticize in the -- -- other people have nothing to offer.
And I think it's really unfortunate I think if people were to put out more their own proposals.
A lot more opportunity for compromise and -- what is out on the limb with some sort of proposal they'd be more likely to have conversations like adults.
Do you think it's become to politicize that politicians are too worried about losing their jobs to really take a firm stand -- What needs to be done to fix Medicare.
Yeah I think that's right I think they're very -- -- you often concerned more about the jobs and about doing the right thing but if you look at Paul Ryan.
He comes in the district that was carried by -- -- -- Bill Clinton twice Al Gore John Kerry and Barack Obama by wide margins.
Yet he wins it very comfortably every time.
So there's clearly a market among Republicans independents and Democrats for thoughtful smart intelligent representation.
People are actually talk about the biggest problems facing America and he does that very well.
Our -- accident the issue with fraud and how we can protect ourselves.
How describe some of the ways the system gets cheated.
Well there's so many ways it's hard to cover just a few minutes but it's easily in the tens of billions a dollars a year there's a case in Tennessee just the other day.
-- fraudulent billing scams there's a case last week where a Florida State legislator her son.
Was charge would be to -- Florida Medicaid for 300000.
Dollars.
So we -- the family members.
Politicians are getting into the game -- it's so easy.
But setting up these fraud billing scams and is sending bills and the Medicare or Medicaid is so easy.
The organized crime minute now is pervasive and I even little mom and pop operations are all over the place and there's just not the bandwidth.
Among prosecutors to get to all of it.
All right thank you very much -- stroke.
Thank you.
