Medicaid tightens fraud controls: dead providers must be weeded out
H.R. 2309 — Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act · Filed by Scott Peters (D-CA) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 24, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires state Medicaid programs to check whether enrolled providers and suppliers are deceased, using the federal Death Master File, starting January 1, 2027, and at least quarterly thereafter. It closes a gap in fraud prevention by preventing dead providers from billing Medicaid.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a straightforward anti-fraud measure: mandatory quarterly verification that Medicaid providers are alive. It directly addresses a known gap in program integrity controls.
What the text implies
- States must build or integrate Death Master File checking into their enrollment systems by January 1, 2027, creating implementation costs and IT infrastructure demands that may strain smaller state Medicaid agencies.
- Quarterly checks create ongoing administrative burden; states may need to hire additional staff or contract with vendors to conduct these verifications, shifting operational costs within state budgets.
- The bill does not specify remedies for providers found to be deceased (e.g., claim recoupment, provider termination timelines), leaving enforcement discretion to states and potentially creating inconsistent outcomes.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill strengthens fraud prevention in a public health program by blocking a straightforward abuse vector (deceased providers continuing to bill). Medicaid beneficiaries and taxpayers both benefit from reduced improper payments and preserved program integrity.
Named in the bill
State Medicaid programs, Social Security Administration (Death Master File custodian), Medicaid providers and suppliers, Department of Health and Human Services
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 5 Republicans, 2 Democrats.
- Mar 24, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 24, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $430,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 21 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Scott Peters, the sponsor, reported $1,197,250 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Americans for Prosperity — $390,000 on 1 filing
- Chartercare Health of Ri (forrmerly Known As Chartercare Health Partners) — $40,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 23, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (779 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 23, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Medicaid tightens fraud controls: dead providers must be weeded out” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr2309 Report an error
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