The GOP’s push to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act would destabilize efforts to reduce fraud and abuse within the Medicare program, according to the New York Times editorial board.
The op-ed highlighted the $350 million the ACA has devoted towards the Medicare Fraud Strike Force program, along with a stronger focus on using data to uncover fraud schemes. The ACA also strengthened fraud sentencing guidelines by allowing prosecutors to focus on the amount billed to the government rather than the amount paid, and required defendants to repay more than $5.5 million.
Highlighting recent charges against three individuals accused of a $1 billion scheme, and national fraud bust led by the Department of Justice that arrested more than 300 individuals linked to $900 million in false claims, the editorial board argued repealing the ACA would undo progress made through the law’s extensive antifraud initiatives.
“Medicare fraud is a scourge,” the editors wrote, “but those who would weaken the healthcare system for ideological reasons are an even bigger problem.”
For more:
- read the NY Times editorial