Live from the Regional Fraud Prevention Summit

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services begins the first of a few Regional Fraud Prevention Summit today in Miami. You can watch the Summit live via streaming video here until 12:30PM EST.

According to the webpage:
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder join together in kicking-off the first in a series of Regional Health Care Fraud Prevention Summits in Miami, Florida as part of the Obama Administration's unprecedented effort to crack down on health care fraud.

The Most Influential People in the Health Care System

According to this blog post on the NY Times, Modern Healthcare recently released its list of the 100 most influential people in the health care system. The top 3 people on the list, which should come as no surprise, are Barack Obama; Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; and Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform.

Who are some other very important people in the health care system that should be part of this list?

See the full list here.

Grants available for children not yet enrolled in Medicaid

According to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, $40 million will be released to help families who have not yet been able to enroll in Medicaid and Childrens Health Insurance Program. This is part of the program focusing on the millions of uninsured children.

Secretary Sebelius stated:
“We know there are millions of children who are eligible for coverage but don’t utilize their state health care programs. These grants will help community organizations, tribal organizations, as well as states and local governments reach out to children and families to ensure more children get the health care they need and deserve.”

Read more here.

Sebelius Speaks on Obama's Health Care Plan

This post on Real Clear Politics has a short video of Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius discussing the Obama administration's plan for health care. Sebelius discusses that the system needs competition, and that the administration is open to discussions on how to improve the government-run plan better. The video is about 12 minutes long, take some time to view it below.

View the video

Creation of HEAT hopes to combat Medicare fraud

Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today the start of a new program called Healthcare Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT).

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Seblius stated,
“Today, we are turning up the heat on perpetrators who steal from the taxpayers and threaten the future of Medicare and Medicaid. Most providers are doing the right thing and providing care with integrity. But we cannot and will not allow billions of dollars to be stolen from Medicare and Medicaid through fraud, waste and serious abuse of the system. It’s time to bring the fight against fraud into the 21st century and put the resources on the streets and out into the community to protect the American taxpayers and lower the cost of health care.”

Read the full story here.

Sebelius and DeParle to take up office in Obama'a cabinet

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was nominated by President Obama Monday to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Nancy-Ann DeParle help coordinate health policy. For more on this new nomination to Health and Human Services, read this article at the New York Times.