WASHINGTON – Working to protect taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries, Senator Chuck Grassley today introduced legislation to get at a major factor in Medicare fraud by giving the federal government more time to pay Medicare providers when waste, fraud and abuse is suspected.

               
Right now, federal law requires that Medicare send payment within a very short time frame, even when there is risk of fraud, waste or abuse.  “Because of this prompt payment rule, the government puts itself in a position of having to pay and chase Medicare fraud, instead of working to prevent it in the first place.  That doesn’t make any sense,” Grassley said, “and it’s no way to manage Medicare’s resources.”