President Obama’s fiscal year 2010 proposed budget estimates that reducing health care fraud, waste and abuse could save the government about $10 billion in a decade’s time. The budget pledges nearly $1.5 billion for its Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program (HCFAC), including a $311 million increase in HCFAC funding. The budget takes aim at reducing Medicare and Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse by, inter alia, increasing oversight and use of national coding and technology to ensure appropriate Medicare payments for imaging and more. It also proposes to address financial conflicts of interest in physician-owned specialty hospitals. This is another firm indication that President Obama is well aware that investing in fraud detection and enforcement will return taxpayer dollars many times over.

To review the budget outline, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/. Or, for more information about Medicare fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.