Massive government spending and entitlement programs create opportunities for fraud. Nevertheless, never underestimate the ability of politicians to claim against all evidence that their new entitlement will be the exception.
A perfect example is Barack Obama’s claim that once president, his sweeping health care reform proposal will save billions of dollars, in part by getting rid of “waste, fraud and abuse.”
If only it were so.
Just last week Attorney General Michael Mukasey praised federal and state law enforcement efforts in trying to stem the wave of Medicare fraud, especially in medical devices.
It’s a really BIG wave.
Since a Medicare anti-fraud strike force began targeting South Florida, 200 people have been arrested responsible for an estimated $638 million in false claims.
Last year, as part of the sting, government officials visited some 1,600 businesses that bill Medicare for providing services to Medicare patients. They found that 481 of those “businesses”—which had billed Medicare for $237 million—didn’t even exist.
Granted, South Florida is considered one of the worst cases, but federal prosecutors say there are several other serious areas, including Southern California and Texas.
Feeling any better about the government’s ability to handle a massive new health care program that would include everyone while eliminating fraud?
Of course, both Obama and Clinton say they would retain the private sector in their proposals—that’s if the private sector decides to remain after it sees the huge new regulatory beast that will be needed to try to control all of the economic disincentives.
But that’s just wishful thinking on the candidates’ part. When the government ratchets up a huge new entitlement program and throws hundreds of billions of dollars at it, the criminal element will have every incentive it needs to gear up the fraud machine.
Yes, the government will likely catch some bad guys—and probably some good guys as well. That’s what happens when you cast a broad enough net.
But like the fisherman’s stories, the ones they catch are never as big as the ones that got away.