Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today, Senator Wyden and I reintroduced the Medicare Data Access for Transparency and Accountability Act. This collaborative effort includes two ideas for making Medicare billing and spending more transparent. The first provision comes from a bill I introduced in 2011 to enhance the government's ability to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud. It would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulations making Medicare claims and payment data available to the public, similar to other federal spending disclosed on www.USAspending.gov. That website was created by legislation sponsored by then-Senator Obama and Senator Coburn. It lists almost all federal spending, but it doesn't include payments made to Medicare providers. That means virtually every other government program, including some defense spending, is more transparent than the Medicare program. Omitting Medicare spending is especially alarming when you consider the portion of Federal spending that goes through the Medicare program. In 2011, the Federal Government spent $549 billion on Medicare. Taxpayers have a right to see how their hard-earned dollars are being spent. There should not be a special exception for hard-earned dollars that happen to be spent through Medicare. Transparency will restore that taxpayers' right. Also, if doctors know that each claim they make will be publicly available, it might deter some wasteful practices and overbilling.…”