A welcome call for cooperation
The Pharos-Tribune
Logansport, Ind.

President Barack Obama sounded just the right note Tuesday in his annual State of the Union address.

He acknowledged that Republicans and Democrats had seen their share of disagreements over the last two years, but he urged lawmakers to remember that Americans were all a part of
something more important than party or political preference.

“We are part of the American family,” he said. “We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people. ...”

Critics have faulted Obama on the specifics. His overall tone, though, was aimed at boosting the nation’s confidence.

“We are poised for progress,” he said. “Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again.”

Obama rejected the idea that the nation’s best days are behind it.

“The future is ours to win,” he said. “But to get there, we can’t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, ‘The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.’ Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and
struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.”

Toward the beginning of his speech, Obama noted the change in seating arrangements as members of the two parties sat side by side. Still, he said, mixing up the seating arrangements won’t be enough.

“What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight,” he said, “but whether we can work together
tomorrow.”

In comments afterward, Republicans made it clear that the parties remain far apart on their visions for the correct way forward. Obama, though, expressed confidence that the two sides could find common ground.

“I believe we must,” he said. “That’s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they’ve determined that governing
will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all — for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.”

And that, indeed, will be the challenge of the next two years.

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Health care fraud units return $4 billion
The Norman Transcript
Norman, Okla.

How much federal money appropriated for health care is lost to fraud each year? No one knows for sure but in the federal budget year that ended in September, the government received $4 billion in judgments and administrative fines.

Whistleblowers have stepped up and have turned in suspected fraud they saw in the workplace. They’ve been rewarded, too, with about $300 million in the past year.

USA Today reports federal agents have recovered $2.5 billion from health care fraud judgments and another $1.5 billion from health care providers who choose administrative routes rather than court action. Hundreds of those convicted of fraud received prison sentences.

The money will be folded back into Medicare in hopes of keeping it solvent. USA Today reports since 2006, more than $9 billion in health care fraud dollars have been recovered.

The new health care law created one agency and expanded another to help crack down on fraud. Supporters say it will help reduce fraud and save close to $5 billion over the next 10 years.

If it happens, the investment will be well worth it. More than half of the money recovered came from pharmaceutical companies. One company paid a $420 million fine for mis-marketing a drug. One doctor agreed to pay back $12 million in fines for improperly billing for radiation services.