First, some good news for the 44 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries of Medicare. The government has announced that there will be no premium increase in 2009. This is only the sixth time in Medicare's history that rates have held steady for two consecutive years, according to the Bloomberg News.

Rick Foster, Medicare chief actuary, said holding the line on premiums had NOTHING to do with this year's presidential election. Really??????

As Election Day approaches, wouldn't it make smart political sense for an unpopular Administration to hold the line on premiums when the nation's seniors and disabled are struggling with the costs of health care, food, transportation and housing? 

In fairness, we'll give Foster the benefit of the doubt.

Now for a related story...the Los Angeles Times reported the arrest of an ex-con for scheming to bilk the Medicare for millions.

Turns out the con, who is now singing to the feds, was a small player in a larger fraud scheme aimed at fleecing the Medicare system for $33 million. The arrests were made by the Medicare Strike Force. The Times reported that since its inception, the Strike Force has indicted 175 people alleged to have ripped off Medicare for half a billion dollars.

"We're talking about losing billions of dollars annually through fraud and abuse," said Kirk Ogrosky, the Justice Department prosecutor.  Really?

The Miami Herald reports that healthcare fraud is "massive" in South Florida. In the year ending Sept. 30, 245 defendants were charged with filing $793.5 million in false Medicare claims, according to U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta.

While most cases resulted in convictions, the Herald reports that the government has recovered little from the Medicare crooks because they spent it quickly on lavish lifestyles.

In the meantime, the nation's seniors and disabled are shortchanged on what Medicare will--and will not--cover for their healthcare needs.

How much more fraud is out there? If aggressive fraud investigation and enforcement are made a priority by the federal government perhaps more millions can be saved--and maybe the Medicare system will no longer be the subject of dire predictions about its financial solvency. 

Maybe Medicare premium increases could become permanently frozen--or even decreased? Maybe the nation's seniors and disabled, who rely on it for their health care, will no longer see premiums and copayments rise every year.

A new president looking for ways to fund a better health care system for Americans should take a hard look at increased policing of the Medicare system for fraud and inefficiency. 

How to Report Medicare fraud