On March 7, 2012, Chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, Representative Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (R-La), issued letters to CMS, HHS and the DOJ requesting information about the entities’ efforts to combat Medicare fraud.

Referencing a March 2, 2012 Subcommittee hearing on “Improving Efforts to Combat Health Care Fraud,” Boustany explains that the present inquiry is a follow-up to the efforts discussed at that hearing and a request for “information about specific areas of concern for Medicare fraud.”

In the letter to Marilyn Tavenner, Acting Administrator of CMS, Representative Boustany asks whether CMS: (1) has considered using the authority provided under Section 1866 of the Social Security Act (SSA) that permits imposing “temporary moratoriums on the enrollment of certain new providers when necessary to prevent or combat fraud, waste, or abuse within Medicare;” and (2) will meet a March 2013 deadline imposed by Section 1866(j) of the SSA that all Medicare providers and suppliers be screened for potential threats to Medicare integrity.