Tuesday, October 10, 2006

If New Medicaid Rules Applied to Congress, Hastert & Allen Would be in Trouble

New Medicaid rules give states the incentive to go after providers suspected of fraud. It created the “Medicaid Integrity Program” which will end up being a revenue generator for the federal government as it collects more in fines than the program costs.

Prosecutions on the civil side don’t require proof of fraud, but simply that the provider acted in “reckless disregard” or “deliberate ignorance” of the offenses going on in their organizations.

Who just claimed ignorance of Congressional ethics regarding financial reporting requirements? House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded “clueless” regarding a land deal as he left out a company used to facilitate the transaction. Senator George acted similarly regarding stock options from several Virginia companies on which he served as a Board member.

Congress can dish it out, but apply the same standards to themselves? Not this bunch, is it time for a new group? I’m not sure they could do any worse…

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