Summary

Weaknesses within the current health insurance system allow unscrupulous health care providers to cheat insurance companies and programs out of billions of dollars annually. Fraud and abuse flourish in a health care system that collects little information on provider practices, encourages high profits at the expense of cost-effective care, and has ineffective laws and enforcement mechanisms to punish and recover money from those abusing the system. This testimony makes several recommendations aimed at overcoming these problems. Recent legislative proposals to reform the health care system, including the administration's proposal, address each of these elements to some extent.