On March 17, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations convened a hearing focusing on fraud in Medicare and Medicaid. Kimberly Brandt, Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), was the only witness during the hearing. Deputy Administrator Brandt has more than 20 years’ experience working in multiple roles within CMS, the Senate Finance Committee, and private industry with a deep focus on program integrity policy and operations. Throughout her testimony and in questioning, Deputy Administrator Brandt focused on some key themes:
Fraud in home health and, particularly, fraud in hospice came up repeatedly across multiple lines of questioning from Republican members of Congress. Deputy Administrator Brandt talked a lot about what CMS has been doing about hospice fraud, including site visits and revocations. Democrats focused on the firings of Inspectors General, the disallowance and deferral of Medicaid funds in Minnesota, and their view that this work is politically targeted at states with blue governors. Deputy Administrator Brandt emphasized CMS' processes and noted that Florida had gotten a letter similar to letters sent to a number of blue states (the Florida letter is attached to the nightly update). The hearing memo provided by Committee's majority staff with background information, key themes, and questions can be found here. Individuals interested in viewing the hearing can do so here.