Department Of Justice, HHS Boosts Number Of Investigators, Prosecutors Looking At Medicare, Medicaid Fraud (Medical News Today)
HHS and the Department of Justice on Wednesday launched the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team to detect and prevent fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, the Washington Post reports (Johnson, Washington Post, 5/21). DOJ also plans to establish teams to address fraud in the Medicare Part D program and CHIP (Kennedy, AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/20).

DOJ expands strike forces to target Medicare fraud (AP via Yahoo! News)
The federal government is multiplying by 10 the number of agents and prosecutors targeting Medicare fraud in Miami, Los Angeles and other strategic cities where officials say tens of billions of dollars are lost each year.

AARP Ramps Up Effort To Close Medicare Doughnut Hole One In Five Fall Into The Gap, But Few Climb Out (Medical News Today)
WASHINGTON-AARP's Health Action Now campaign turns its attention this week to the growing problem of prescription drug costs and reducing the gap in prescription drug coverage for people in Medicare. Closing the Part D doughnut hole could save people in the program thousands of dollars in drug costs and keep them healthier by ensuring they can afford their medications.

Medicare drug program is confusing and costly (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Columnist Charles Krauthammer and others have extolled the benefits of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit for seniors on the basis that competition drives down prices and the program, taken as a whole, is far more efficient than government-run programs.