June 12, 1996

Under cover of fighting fraud, using a popular vehicle called insurance reform, Congress is about to criminalize medicine. Legislation nearing passage could put you in jail, exact excessive fines, or force seizure of your business and property for unintended paperwork mistakes.

A couple months ago, the Kassebaum-Kennedy bill (H.R. 3103) was a simple bill to improve insurance portability. The most controversial aspect as reported by the media was the provision for tax relief for working Americans in the form of Medical Savings Accounts.

But in the current version, one third of its 300+ pages outline federal civil and criminal penalties for patients and physicians who commit a broad range of vaguely defined offenses. Some of the most egregious examples:

• Without the need to prove criminal intent to defraud, the federal government could impose penalties ranging from $10,000 to life imprisonment.
• You could be fined up to $25,000 a year for failing to report all patient transactions to the federal government in the proper format. Under the subterfuge of "administrative simplification," the House bill would force the computerization of medical records. Medical records would become a tool for federal prosecutors. They could be used to convict both doctors and patients of "Federal Health Care Offenses," say a misstatement to a Health Plan.
• You could be subject to penalties equal to those imposed on drug dealers and racketeers. Upon conviction, the government could seize your business and personal property. The bill also contains lucrative monetary bounties for prosecutors and rewards to informants.

AAPS IS LEADING THE CHARGE TO FIGHT THESE PROVISIONS. You may have read our May 30 Wall Street Journal article on this bill. Their headline read "Health Bill Would Shackle DoctorsÄLiterally." Senator Kassebaum wrote a defensive response, claiming that the article misrepresented the bill, but the legislation speaks for itself. (If you're inclined to read the bill, we have posted it on a temporary Web Site, http://www.primenet.com/~snavely.)

For information on joining AAPS or to request a copy of the Wall Street Journal article, call the AAPS hotline at (800)419-4777.

If you just want more information on the bill, call our FAX-on-demand service at (703)716-3404 and follow the directions.

Also, call your members of Congress and tell them you oppose the onerous "fraud and abuse" provisions in H.R. 3103.

DON'T STAND ON THE SIDELINES. JOIN THOUSANDS OF YOUR COLLEAGUES IN AAPS AND HELP US SAVE OUR PROFESSION.