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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release February 24, 1999

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I am pleased to join the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice and the AARP in launching the new "Who Pays? You Pay" campaign, a new initiative to combat fraud and abuse in the Medicare program.

This new campaign is another step towards ending the fraudulent practices that rob taxpayers and threaten the future of the Medicare trust fund. Today, we are partnering with beneficiaries to teach them how to detect Medicare fraud. We have worked with, and we will continue to work with, those in the provider community who are equally committed to eliminating health care fraud.

We have a long-standing commitment to crack down on fraud, waste, and abuse, and I am proud to say that since 1993, the Administration's efforts have saved taxpayers more than $38 billion, with health care fraud convictions increasing by more than 240 percent. The partnership between providers, the law enforcement community, and beneficiaries created by this initiative is a critical step towards ending waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program. Physicians, nurses, hospitals, and nursing homes know that it is in everyone's best interest to weed out the bad apple providers who threaten our ability to provide high-quality and affordable health care for older Americans.

I congratulate Secretary Shalala, Attorney General Reno, and the AARP for their commitment to preserve the Medicare program and ensure the provision of high-quality, affordable health care to our senior citizens.

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