Letters to the President - I

Dear Mr. President,

Today I’m writing about health-care fraud.  Fraud is a fact of every ultra-large government program.  Careful observers of such programs or systems note that expertise develops on which requests will be approved and which do not.  It is a simple conclusion for applicants to tailor requests to fit the parameters of acceptance. 

Fraud in Medicare and related programs is acknowledged to be rampant, costing taxpayers multiple billions each year. This requires increased budgets and decreased honest benefit approvals. The acknowledged capitols of such fraud are Miami and NYC, particularly for medical equipment.  In fact, I’ve read that organized crime is involved, with their view that such activities (fraud) are far safer than traditional venues.  The fraud here is that the equipment is never delivered.  Even doctors are involved.

I recommend you declare a “War Against Fraud,” wherein you franchise an undersecretary to Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services, to dedicate all efforts toward this end.  Such a move has several advantages.

1.   Reduce fraud,
2.  Increase funds available for true medical needs,
3. Bi-partisan support from all Americans.

Here is one simple example related to procedures.  When the Federal approvers are regionally based, it becomes the nature of the system that certain persons will be approving (or not) from the same specific regions.  This invites fraud.  It the approval process was nationally distributed, the “local” factor is instantly diminished.  The hidden assumption here is a collusion of sorts – bordering on bribery. Indeed, many forms of fraud are bribery-based.

Please consider.  You could appoint a Democrat to lead this campaign. You could save billions, and moreover, provide additional coverage for millions from the savings.

Thanks much,