Congress toughens penalties for health care fraud to protect patients and taxpayers
S. 3593 — Punishing Health Care Fraudsters Act · Filed by Ashley Moody (R-FL) · Introduced Jan 7, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill increases criminal penalties for health care fraud under federal law. It raises maximum prison sentences from 10 to 25 years for basic health care fraud and to 30 years for aggravated cases, and increases fines from $250,000 to higher amounts. It also directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and strengthen sentencing guidelines for health care fraud to ensure punishments reflect the seriousness of the crime and deter future offenses.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to increase criminal penalties and sentencing guidelines for health care fraud. It is a straightforward enforcement measure with no hidden mechanisms or unrelated provisions.
What the text implies
- Increased sentencing may disproportionately affect smaller providers and individual practitioners who lack sophisticated legal defense resources compared to large health systems with in-house counsel.
- The Sentencing Commission's discretion to consider 'commercial advantage' and 'intent to cause harm' creates potential for inconsistent application across different fraud schemes and jurisdictions.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens benefit from stronger enforcement against health care fraud, which drives up insurance premiums, reduces access to care, and diverts resources from legitimate medical services. Increased penalties and sentencing guidelines create deterrence against schemes that harm patients and taxpayers who fund Medicare and Medicaid.