Fraud

President Obama on Wednesday instructed the heads of all executive departments and agencies to increase their use of "Payment Recapture Audits" to reduce the amount of improper Medicare, Medicaid and other similar payments.

President Obama is scheduled to unveil his FY 2011 federal budget proposal today. The blueprint would provide states with some additional Medicaid funding and crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

The Department of Health and Human Services is considering convening a Medicare and Medicaid anti-fraud summit meeting. It would be one way to reduce wasteful spending and combat fraud, a representative from the agency said last week.

The call for widespread adoption of electronic medical records has prompted some states to pass stringent privacy laws to protect their residents against fraud or identity theft. But a new analysis finds these laws seem to significantly diminish the effectiveness of the new technology.