Gingrich: Waxman Lets Health Care Fraud Flourish

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 24, 2009 10:52 AM CDT
Gingrich: Waxman Lets Health Care Fraud Flourish
Henry Waxman speaks after he and other Blue Dog Democrats met with President Barack Obama in this July 21, 2009 file photo.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

America’s health care system is riddled with so much fraud that eliminating it would pay for universal coverage, but Congress doesn’t seem to care, writes Newt Gingrich in the Washington Examiner. He singles out as his particular villain Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Waxman, he charges, hasn’t held a single hearing to look into Medicaid fraud, even though the GAO says $32.7 billion worth of Medicaid payments were improper in 2007.

Waxman’s fought every effort to introduce market-oriented bidding into Medicare, or to make the health care system more transparent. He even fought to add a provision to the stimulus bill that would eliminate citizenship, identity, and income verification requirements for Medicaid, “in hopes of ensuring that millions of illegal aliens would receive taxpayer-funded healthcare services.” His health care bill contains similar provisions, says Gingrich. No wonder he’s having trouble getting it out of committee. (More Newt Gingrich stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X