Jan 21, 2011
A new year gives us a symbolic fresh start for self-improvement. Many people like to make resolutions, such as losing weight, getting organized, and better managing their time and money.
The 112th Congress opened for business in January. Not unlike the self-improvement goals so often embraced around the first of the year, Congress would do well to trim the fat, cut job-chilling rules and regulations and make every tax dollar count.
Considering the $14 trillion national debt, Congress has an urgent obligation to get the federal budget under control. Interest payments on the national debt and mandatory entitlement spending are capturing a growing share of every tax dollar sent to Washington.
It’s more important than ever to put the brakes on the federal spending spree of the last Congress and scrutinize how tax dollars are spent.
Keeping close tabs on the federal purse strings is easier said than done. Whether tracking down answers through the labyrinthine federal government, riding herd on Pentagon excesses, raising questions about potential abuses by tax-exempt organizations or welcoming whistleblowers to come forward with allegations of waste, fraud and abuse, my effort to protect the taxpaying public and advance the public good takes commitment, patience and tenacity. Fortunately, these are also traits that are inherent to the Iowa spirit and run bone deep in its citizens.
Debate on reforming the nation’s health insurance system monopolized the previous legislative cycle in Congress and arguably polarized the American public. However, if there’s one universal principle all sides can agree on regarding U.S. health care, it is this: Medical costs are escalating at an unsustainable pace, and we have limited resources to pay for them.
During my work last year on federal health policy and taxes, I fought to make certain that the federal government was doing all it could to monitor and combat health care fraud. This included monitoring Medicaid providers who write prescriptions for certain drugs at rates much higher than their peers. Some of these drugs had high “street value” because of their popularity among drug abusers. I decided to take a closer look and requested state regulators to provide lists of the top 10 Medicaid prescribers of eight specific drugs that included anti-anxiety drugs, antipsychotic medications and pain management prescriptions.
While the findings aren’t conclusive, they do raise a red flag. Consider a Florida doctor who wrote nearly 97,000 prescriptions for mental-health drugs in less than two years. Arguably physicians who specialize in treating patients with mental illness or chronic pain would justifiably write a greater volume of prescriptions for certain prescription drugs than other doctors. However, the findings reported by state regulatory agencies may indicate instances of medical misconduct, overutilization or even health care fraud. It’s my job to make sure the federal government is doing all it can to look out for health care fraud.
Fraud and misuse would have grim consequences for the taxpaying public and public health. Taxpayers foot the bill for Medicaid prescriptions; the second-leading cause of unintentional deaths in the United States is now attributable to prescription drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Parents need to be especially concerned about the growing popularity of prescription medicines among teenagers. Some kids help themselves to their parents’ prescriptions and may not consider the drugs harmful because they are legal and prescribed for medicinal use. According to a study by the CDC, unintentional deaths from prescription drug overdose more than doubled to 22,000 between 1995 and 2005.
Balancing the needs of the patient with the need to protect public health and the taxpaying public will require sustained oversight and cooperation among doctors, policymakers, regulators and program administrators. The bottom line is prescription drugs must be prescribed as appropriately as possible.
From my senior position in the U.S. Senate, I will continue to cast a wide net across the federal government to expose wrongdoing and the misuse of tax dollars. That’s a resolution I will continue to keep.
Jan 21, 2011
A new year gives us a symbolic fresh start for self-improvement. Many people like to make resolutions, such as losing weight, getting organized, and better managing their time and money.
The 112th Congress opened for business in January. Not unlike the self-improvement goals so often embraced around the first of the year, Congress would do well to trim the fat, cut job-chilling rules and regulations and make every tax dollar count.
Considering the $14 trillion national debt, Congress has an urgent obligation to get the federal budget under control. Interest payments on the national debt and mandatory entitlement spending are capturing a growing share of every tax dollar sent to Washington.
It’s more important than ever to put the brakes on the federal spending spree of the last Congress and scrutinize how tax dollars are spent.
Keeping close tabs on the federal purse strings is easier said than done. Whether tracking down answers through the labyrinthine federal government, riding herd on Pentagon excesses, raising questions about potential abuses by tax-exempt organizations or welcoming whistleblowers to come forward with allegations of waste, fraud and abuse, my effort to protect the taxpaying public and advance the public good takes commitment, patience and tenacity. Fortunately, these are also traits that are inherent to the Iowa spirit and run bone deep in its citizens.
Debate on reforming the nation’s health insurance system monopolized the previous legislative cycle in Congress and arguably polarized the American public. However, if there’s one universal principle all sides can agree on regarding U.S. health care, it is this: Medical costs are escalating at an unsustainable pace, and we have limited resources to pay for them.
During my work last year on federal health policy and taxes, I fought to make certain that the federal government was doing all it could to monitor and combat health care fraud. This included monitoring Medicaid providers who write prescriptions for certain drugs at rates much higher than their peers. Some of these drugs had high “street value” because of their popularity among drug abusers. I decided to take a closer look and requested state regulators to provide lists of the top 10 Medicaid prescribers of eight specific drugs that included anti-anxiety drugs, antipsychotic medications and pain management prescriptions.
While the findings aren’t conclusive, they do raise a red flag. Consider a Florida doctor who wrote nearly 97,000 prescriptions for mental-health drugs in less than two years. Arguably physicians who specialize in treating patients with mental illness or chronic pain would justifiably write a greater volume of prescriptions for certain prescription drugs than other doctors. However, the findings reported by state regulatory agencies may indicate instances of medical misconduct, overutilization or even health care fraud. It’s my job to make sure the federal government is doing all it can to look out for health care fraud.
Fraud and misuse would have grim consequences for the taxpaying public and public health. Taxpayers foot the bill for Medicaid prescriptions; the second-leading cause of unintentional deaths in the United States is now attributable to prescription drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Parents need to be especially concerned about the growing popularity of prescription medicines among teenagers. Some kids help themselves to their parents’ prescriptions and may not consider the drugs harmful because they are legal and prescribed for medicinal use. According to a study by the CDC, unintentional deaths from prescription drug overdose more than doubled to 22,000 between 1995 and 2005.
Balancing the needs of the patient with the need to protect public health and the taxpaying public will require sustained oversight and cooperation among doctors, policymakers, regulators and program administrators. The bottom line is prescription drugs must be prescribed as appropriately as possible.
From my senior position in the U.S. Senate, I will continue to cast a wide net across the federal government to expose wrongdoing and the misuse of tax dollars. That’s a resolution I will continue to keep.