Seniors and Taxpayers Obligation Protection Act of 2008

A bill to amend tile XVIII of the Social Security Act to reduce fraud under the Medicare program.

6/19/2008--Introduced.
Seniors and Taxpayers Obligation Protection Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and implement procedures to change the Medicare beneficiary identifer used to identify individuals entitled to benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), or enrolled under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), so that such an individual's Social Security number is not used. Amends SSA title XVIII to direct the Secretary to establish and implement a system to verify on a monthly basis that the claims for reimbursement under Medicare part B for physicians' services furnished in high risk areas are:
(1) for physicians' services actually furnished by the physician (or the physician's group practice); and
(2) otherwise accurate. Requires the Secretary to establish a system to identify the 50 counties most vulnerable (high risk areas) to Medicare fraud. Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the use of technology to provide real-time data analysis of Medicare reimbursement claims to identify and investigate unusual billing or order practices under the Medicare program that could indicate fraud or abuse. Requires the Secretary to establish procedures to require carriers, before paying a claim for reimbursement for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) to confirm with the National Supplier Clearinghouse:
(1) that the supplier's Medicare identification number is active; and
(2) that the item or service for which the reimbursement claim is submitted was properly identified on the CMS-855S Medicare enrollment application. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations for a unique identifier (serial number) tracking system for payment for durable medical equipment (DME). Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary must put in place a surety bond requirement for DME suppliers within six months of the date of enactment of this Act in order to maintain Medicare program integrity.


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Sponsor

• Sen. Mel Martinez [R, FL]
• and 6 Co-Sponsors
  • Sen. Lamar Alexander [R, TN]
  • Sen. Thad Cochran [R, MS]
  • Sen. Bob Corker [R, TN]
  • Sen. John Cornyn [R, TX]
  • Sen. Jim DeMint [R, SC]
  • Sen. David Vitter [R, LA]
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Committees

• Senate Finance

Amendments

This bill has no amendments.

Amendments to S.3164

Number	Status	Purpose

Bill Status

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Introduced		Voted on by Senate		Voted on by House		Considered By President		Bill Becomes Law
June 19, 2008

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All Bill Actions

• Jun 19, 2008: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
• Introduced on Jun 19, 2008.

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Related Issue Areas:

• Surety and fidelity
• Social security numbers
• Social security
• Prosthesis
• 18 more
• Physicians
• Medicine
• Medicare
• Medical supplies
• Medical care
• Law
• Identification devices
• Health information systems
• Health care fraud
• Governmental investigations
• Finance
• Executive departments
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Congressional reporting requirements
• Congress
• Aged
• Administrative procedure
• Health policy

Data from the Congressional Research Service

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Blog Coverage

September 27, 2008 citizens against government waste - citizens against government waste

Sen. Martinez introduced S. 3164, ... Citizens Against Government Waste Stories - http://www.cagw.org/site/News2?lcmd=pub.date.desc&cmd... - References [ More results from Citizens Against Government Waste Stories ] ...

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September 12, 2008 New HUD Lawsuit Covers Familiar Ground

Following passage by the Senate, the House of Representatives, when initially passing S. 3164, amended the bill by striking all of the Senate's provisions and substituting the provisions of HR 9989, which was a House bill generally ...

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August 06, 2008 New HUD Lawsuit Covers Familiar Ground

In 1974, a bill (S. 3164) was introduced in the US Senate to regulate certain lending practices and settlement procedures in federally related mortgage transactions. The definition of "settlement services" in the bill as introduced was ...

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Source: Pearle

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