WASHINGTON — In the current Capitol Hill environment, according to Cara Bachenheimer, "combating fraud, waste and abuse is motherhood and apple pie."

A recent flurry of bills addressing the issue highlight the point:

• Introduced Nov. 16 by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the Fighting Medicare Payment Fraud Act of 2009 (S. 2774) would give Medicare more time to pay a claim if it believes the claim is fraudulent. The bill proposes a payment extension of up to one year for categories of providers or suppliers in a particular geographic area, or for individual providers if it is determined there is a likelihood of fraud, waste or abuse. (For more, see Grassley: Check for Fraud before Paying Claims, Nov. 18.)

• The Prevent Health Care Fraud Act of 2009 (S. 2128), introduced Oct. 29 by Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., is a reintroduction of legislation proposed in May by Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who recently resigned his seat. The bill calls for creation of a Chief Healthcare Fraud Prevention Office and also incorporates some of the provisions in the American Association for Homecare's 13-point plan to curtail fraud and abuse, which the group recommended to lawmakers in February. Among others, those points include better screening of providers before enrollment, site visits during renewal and real-time analysis of claims data, similar to that used in the analysis of credit card charges, to pinpoint billing patterns that could indicate fraud or abuse.

• On Oct. 28, Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., introduced the Health Care Fraud Enforcement Act of 2009 (S. 1959). The bill is aimed at bolstering the government's ability to investigate and prosecute cases of fraud, waste and abuse by stiffening sentences and broadening authority. It would also increase funds to fight fraud by $20 million annually from 2011 to 2016.

In addition, both the House and Senate health care reform bills contain anti-fraud measures, although many of them wouldn't necessarily help in fighting the problem, said Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations for Elyria, Ohio-based Invacare.

"The health bills in both chambers contain numerous provisions to address these problems, many of which we agree with, though some that are well-intended [will] not meaningfully address fraud and abuse," she said, "e.g., a face-to-face exam required for any items of DME a physician prescribes."

Seth Johnson, vice president of government affairs for Pride Mobility Products, Exeter, Pa., said the Grassley bill falls into the same category.

"The Grassley bill … would do little to address the heart of the Medicare fraud problem within the DME industry, which is CMS providing Medicare supplier numbers to shell companies that have no intention of complying with the current Medicare requirements," he said.

"In the end," said Bachenheimer, "if the government can't effectively operate the Medicare billing number gatekeeper function, these other types of hurdles likely just harm compliant providers."