Hatch/Coburn/Roskam Letter on Cuba Medicare Fraud

Hatch/Coburn/Roskam Letter on Cuba Medicare Fraud

Following this week's federal crackdown on a money laundering operation that stole millions of dollars from the Medicare program and moved it to Cuban banks, a trio of Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committee members have demanded the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provide an update on the agency's policy to safeguard the Medicare program from waste, fraud and abuse.

In the letter, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Committee member Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) along with House Ways and Means Committee member Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) requested a full briefing from CMS Acting Administrator, Marilyn Tavenner about what is being done to prevent the funneling of American dollars to foreign countries, like Cuba.

The lawmakers wrote, "Clearly, the program vulnerabilities that facilitate billions of dollars to be stolen from the Medicare program each year also allow for some of that money to be funneled to foreign countries. While the fraud itself is unacceptable, the loss of American dollars to foreign countries because of flaws in our system is totally unacceptable. The American people deserve the peace of mind to know that federal officials are doing everything they can to safeguard taxpayers' dollars and the Medicare program."

The U.S. Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees have jurisdiction over the Medicare program. The letter was sent to CMS Acting Administrator Tavenner this evening.

Read the letter here:


6.21.12 Cuba Medicare Fraud letter -