Two senators – one Democrat and one Republican – have introduced legislation that would open Medicare billing records from doctors and other health providers to increased public and media scrutiny.
The Medicare Data Access for Transparency and Accountability Act, was introduced Thursday by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who are both members of the Senate Finance Committee. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a free searchable Medicare payment database the public can use to track billing by health care providers.
The bill also clarifies that Medicare payments to doctors and medical suppliers would not be exempt from provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
Grassley spokeswoman Jill Gerber said the measure is a response to reporting on Medicare fraud, waste and abuse by the Center for Public Integrity and The Wall Street Journal, which together acquired a limited portion of Medicare billing data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a component of HHS.
“Medicare is a $500 billion program with billions of dollars going out in error each year,” Grassley said in a statement. “The bad actors are getting bigger and bolder all the time. They’re able to stay out of law enforcement’s reach too often. It’s time to try new things. The bad actors might be dissuaded if they knew their actions were subject to the light of day.”
In 2009, the Center for Public Integrity sued the CMS for access to Medicare billing information. Partnering with The Wall Street Journal, the Center for Public Integrity subsequently acquired a sampling of eight years of the data.
