Political Quotes

“I rise today to talk about an issue that is extremely important to people in Rhode Island and across the United States: protecting consumers and securing the integrity of Medicare by preventing waste and fraud. Individuals who commit Medicare fraud are not simply stealing from the government, they are stealing from the men and women who have paid into the system their whole lives, they are stealing from our Nation's seniors, and they are stealing from the taxpayers. We have an obligation to ensure that Medicare dollars are spent keeping seniors healthy, and not lining the pockets of predatory opportunists. In March, I held a hearing in Rhode Island on efforts at the Federal, State, and local levels to identify and reduce fraud in Medicare and Medicaid. I heard testimony from a representative of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as well as State and Federal law enforcement officials, including Rhode Island's Attorney General, Peter Kilmartin; and the U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island, Peter Neronha. They discussed a number of the efforts underway to identify potentially fraudulent claims, recover improper payments, and use state-of-the-art analytic software to identify and prevent improper payments. I was pleased to hear about the steps being taken to modernize Medicare's anti-fraud efforts, but there is still much that can be done.…”