Advancing Telehealth Beyond Covid-19 Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, with telehealth helping so many throughout this pandemic, we should certainly continue its benefits, as I proposed in bipartisan legislation last year, and for which I secured the support of 22 health-related stakeholders. But we don't have to accept billions of dollars of fraud, of theft of taxpayer funds as the price for maintaining telehealth.

Here is what has been happening: Information for some patients who wanted a COVID-19 test was used fraudulently to bill Medicare for expensive cancer genetic tests and allergy tests without any medical necessity or any knowledge of the patient. In other cases, expensive medical equipment in no way needed by the patient was ordered.

The wrongdoing has been exposed by the General Accountability Office, the Health and Human Services inspector general, and is the subject of Justice Department prosecutions for literally billions of taxpayer dollars. Through no fault of the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) or Chairman Pallone, this bill fails to address this theft. I offered an amendment to the bill that was recommended by an independent, nonpartisan commission called MedPAC, mandating reasonable steps to prevent or at least significantly reduce this telehealth fraud. Outrageous interference with the consideration of this bill is denying the House today any opportunity to consider this antifraud amendment.

My amendment would have required in-person visits within 6 months prior to ordering this high-cost lab testing or DME--medical equipment--as well as an audit of outlier clinicians whose orders for these very high-cost services and devices are largely made through a telehealth appointment. This has to stop, and we need to prevent the fraud, not just prosecute it and get back a few pennies for the taxpayer per dollar after it has occurred.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, this bill costs $132 million per month. Without these targeted provisions to prevent Medicare from being looted, I must vote against it.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source