Time to Stop Michigan Fraud

Jim Fausone

All you have to do is read the papers or online local news to realize that fraud, waste and abuse in government contracting and programs is running rampant. I will leave it to the psychiatrists to figure out why human nature leads people to take advantage of government programs. But the way to stop it is allow anyone to sue and recover from the wrong doer. This is one state's efforts.

An overhaul of the State of Washington’s Medicaid fraud recovery efforts to cut waste and recover taxpayer dollars was passed by the Legislature. Experts from the National Conference of State Legislatures estimate the cost of Medicaid fraud accounts for 3 and 10 percent of total Medicaid expenditures. Washington spent $8.5 billion on Medicaid last year only to recover less than $20 million in fraud. At its most optimistic, the state’s recovery rate tops out at less than 1 percent so more simply has to be done.

Michigan has a similar statute which is limited to Medicaid fraud. Let’s open it up and let citizens sue on all government programs. You can read more about Washington State's efforts at: http://www.maplevalleyreporter.com/news/142212725.html