Unnecessarily burdensome regulation also aggravates our country's long-term fiscal imbalance by inhibiting the natural growth of federal revenues under existing tax law.

Every dollar lost to Medicare fraud is a dollar stolen from America's elderly and every dollar lost to improper payments, intentional or not, robs from the solvency of this important program.

I am particularly troubled by the inspector general's revelation that Medicare pays $23 million for services to those who have died.

I truly believe that preventing fraud is a bipartisan issue and has been a long-standing challenge.

Can I get a commitment from you that your agency will work with me and our Committee to stop the nearly $50 billion in improper payments each year?

It is very clear that problems with Medicare waste, fraud, and abuse persist. The Medicare trust fund is already headed toward insolvency and every dollar of fraud is a dollar not dedicated to providing quality care for our Nation's…

It is frustrating that such a simple fix has yet to happen.

These are problems that hurt seniors and erode public confidence in the Medicare program, and to my mind, reading the testimony, are preventable.

I have introduced legislation with my colleague, Dr. McDermott, to expand your authority to exclude individuals and companies from participation in Medicare and other Federal programs.

I think it was our colleague, Mr. Roskam, that made mention of $75 billion.

Myself and all my colleagues that have spoken here do have serious concerns about the future of Medicare.