S. 975 (111th): Seniors and Taxpayers Obligation Protection Act of 2009

Introduced:
May 05, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Sen. Mel Martinez [R-FL]
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on May 5, 2009, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced May 05, 2009
Referred to Committee May 05, 2009
Cosponsors
11 cosponsors (8R, 3D) (show)
Committees

Senate Finance

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

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

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

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Last updated May 05, 2009.
27 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

5/5/2009--Introduced.
Seniors and Taxpayers Obligation Protection Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in order to protect beneficiaries from identity theft, to establish and implement procedures to change the Medicare beneficiary identifier 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 title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to direct the Commissioner of Social Security, upon the Secretary's request, to enter into a data matching agreement with the Secretary to determine if individuals are eligible for benefits or if providers are eligible to provide services or supplies.
Directs the Secretary to investigate claims involving certain individuals who are not eligible for benefits or are not eligible providers of services or suppliers.
Amends SSA title XVIII to direct the Secretary to establish and implement a system to verify on a monthly basis that the claims for payment 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 establish procedures for the use of technology (similar to that used with respect to the analysis of credit card charging patterns) to provide real-time data analysis of claims for payment under the Medicare program 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 payment for durable medical equipment (DME), prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) to confirm with the National Supplier Clearinghouse that:
(1) the physician's or practitioner's National Provider Identifier is valid and active;
(2) the supplier's Medicare identification number is valid and active; and
(3) that the item or service for which the claim for payment is submitted was properly identified on the CMS-855S Medicare enrollment application.
Directs the Secretary to develop a strategic plan for the development and implementation of a serial number tracking system for DME, including mechanisms to ensure unique identifiers for DME items without them.
Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the effectiveness of the surety bond requirement for DME suppliers in combating fraud.

House Republican Conference Summary

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No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

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