Manitowoc County’s congressman in Washington is looking to reduce fraud for Medicare and Medicaid.
Sixth District Congressman Glenn Grothman recently introduced the Marketplace Fraud Accountability Act, which would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to add multifactor authentication for enrollees in federal healthcare programs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to better protect Americans’ personal information.
Rep. Grothman says multifactor authentication is a standard security measure used for everything from banking to email.
He continues saying there should be “no reason Americans should have stronger protections for their bank accounts than for their health care accounts. This is a commonsense anti-fraud measure that will make it harder for bad actors to manipulate federal health care accounts and exploit taxpayer-funded programs.”
Rep. Grothman’s office also noted that watchdog organizations have raised concerns that the lack of basic identity protections leaves enrollees “vulnerable to fraud, unauthorized account changes, and identity theft.”
The Marketplace Fraud Accountability Act also directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide alternative authentication for those who don’t have reliable internet or cellular service.
