Hill Issues First Golden Fleece of 2019

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 -- Rep. French Hill, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release:

Congressman French Hill (R-AR) named the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as the latest winner of the Golden Fleece Award for accepting inflated bids for the management of Medicare Part D plans, resulting in roughly $9.1 billion in extra payments to insurers from 2006 to 2015.

"Clearly, more transparency and accountability are needed to ensure that cost forecasts for Medicare prescription-drug benefits are not wildly inflated by insurance providers," said Rep. Hill. "At a time when healthcare costs are skyrocketing, and our nation is over $20 trillion in debt, it is essential that our federal agencies act as good stewards of taxpayers' dollars."

In the letter to the Administrator of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Seema Verma, Congressman Hill wrote:

The Honorable Seema Verma

Administrator

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

7500 Security Blvd

Baltimore, MD 21244-1849

Dear Ms. Verma:

I write today to inform you that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is this month's recipient of my Golden Fleece Award for accepting inflated bids for the management of Medicare Part D. These bids have resulted in roughly $9.1 billion in extra payments to insurers between 2006 through 2015.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, from 2006 to 2015, insurers submitted and secured inflated bids for the administration of Medicare Part D plans, which resulted in $9.1 billion of taxpayer funds being kept by insurers. This is particularly concerning as these funds were paid out in addition to the profits already built into these bids.[1] At a time when healthcare costs are skyrocketing, and our nation is over $20 trillion in debt, it is essential that our federal agencies act as good stewards of taxpayers' dollars.

I am committed to ensuring effective practices at our Nation's federal agencies. Should you require any additional authority from Congress to address these concerns, I urge you to notify us as soon as possible. I would also welcome any technical assistance you could provide to Congress to correct statutory issues that have contributed to this problem. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to working with you to address this important issue.

Sincerely,

French Hill

Member of Congress

To view the letter, click HERE (https://hill.house.gov/components/redirect/r.aspx?ID=2760-944500).

About the Golden Fleece Award

Every year, Congress appropriates trillions of dollars to fund the federal government, and every year the federal government wastes portions of these funds in unconscionable ways. In an attempt to increase accountability for every single government program, Congressman Hill decided to bring back the Golden Fleece Award.

Originally introduced by Democratic U.S. Senator from Wisconsin William Proxmire in March 1975, the Golden Fleece Award was a monthly bulletin on the most frivolous and wasteful uses of hardworking taxpayers' dollars. The Golden Fleece Award became a staple in the U.S. Senate during this time, and Senator Robert Byrd once stated that the awards were "as much a part of the Senate as quorum calls and filibusters."

In reviving this idea, the Golden Fleece Award will again have the opportunity to serve as an important reminder to taxpayers about the need for necessary, commonsense reforms to our federal spending.