Presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is leading an effort to crack down on Medicare fraud by inserting computer chips on Medicare cards.
Rubio teamed up with frequent legislative partner U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., to unveil the “Medicare Common Access Card Act of 2015” on Tuesday. The bill would insert chips in Medicare cards, much like what is currently used by U.S. Department of Defense personnel.
Noting Medicare fraud costs taxpayers around $60 billion annually, the sponsors insisted their bill would cut down on fraud and protect seniors’ data.
“Every time a senior citizen turns to our office for help because their identity has been stolen or they’ve been victimized through the Medicare program, I am sickened by the criminals who prey on them,” Rubio said on Monday. “Seniors in Florida and across the country deserve state-of-the-art measures like this ‘Common Access Card’ to help prevent fraud.”
“Illinois seniors deserve the same level of security against identity theft as our men and women in uniform,” said Kirk. “By utilizing smart technology, we can protect seniors and stop Medicare fraud before it happens.”
“Our seniors place a lot of trust in Medicare,” said Blumenauer. “When we are seeing more and more hacking, we need to make sure that their personal information and identity is safe and secure. This common-sense legislation will not only better protect Medicare beneficiaries against identity theft, but also the integrity of the Medicare program and guard against fraud and abuse.”
The Senate bill was sent to the Finance Committee earlier this week. So far, Kirk and Rubio have not rounded up additional co-sponsors.
The House bill was sent to the Ways and Means and the Energy and Commerce committees earlier this week. U.S. Reps. Ryan Costello, R-Pa., Bob Dold, R-Ill., and Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., have joined on as co-sponsors.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
