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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered the following statement at today’s Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Hearing titled Protecting Patients and Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars: The Role of CMS in Combatting Medicare and Medicaid Fraud.

Chairman Guthrie’s Remarks:

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the recognition. Thank you for being here to our witness, and good afternoon to everybody. Gosh, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, they safeguard our taxpayers. That's what you're here for, and you would think if anything could be bipartisan in this Committee would be when people do fraud, they take away resources for people that really need them. I mean, people really need Medicaid. It is important that they have it, and fraud just robs them of that. 

“There are people who set up these groups that aren't just overcharging or mis-billing,  or improper payments, which was brought up the other day. We're talking people that set up fraudulent businesses to take money away from the people that need it the most, and not only money away from people who need them most, taking it out of the pockets of hard-working taxpayers. It is frustrating that this can't be bipartisan. 

“And Florida is now, you just noticed Florida is under investigation. I just saw Governor DeSantis. He's not a Democrat, I can promise you that. The other day I sent a letter to Nebraska. So we're going to follow where the fraud is. And if the fraud is in Democrat governors, we're going to hold them accountable for it. If it's Republican governors, we're going to hold them accountable for it, because the people that need this program the most are the ones who are the most vulnerable.

“You think about who's vulnerable to fraud… we have behavioral analysis for children with autism, and we have those kind of programs, non-emergency medical transportation has been enthralled, substance use disorder treatment, people who really need those programs are being robbed because people are robbing the hard-earned tax dollars.

“You know, for example, just last month, a Russian citizen was charged in an alleged $3.4 million fraud scheme involving Medicare claims for durable medical equipment. 

“Today's hearing provides an opportunity to examine how much CMS is strengthening its efforts to detect fraud sooner, prevent fraud or fraudulent payments, and improve coordination with states and law enforcement agencies. It is also an opportunity to identify reforms that can further strengthen program integrity, while protecting access to care for millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid and Medicare.

“I look forward to hearing from you today about how we're going to deal with it. And gosh, if you think anything could be bipartisan, it's when people defraud the taxpayer that work hard for the money, who generously through these programs, give it to people who are the most vulnerable, and they're being taken advantage of. They're being taken advantage of from people who don't take this seriously as well.

"I will yield back.”

Chairman Guthrie's questions during today's hearing  examining the role of CMS in combating fraud in Medicare and Medicaid can be found HERE.