Skip to main content
S 1251 112th Congress Senate

Medicare and Medicaid FAST Act

Official title: A bill to amend title XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Introduced: September 21, 2011 See on congress.gov
Health Accounting and auditingAppropriationsChild healthComputer security and identity theft
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Congressional oversightDrug trafficking and controlled substancesFraud offenses and financial crimesGovernment information and archivesGovernment studies and investigationsHealth care costs and insuranceHealth technology, devices, suppliesMedicaidMedicarePerformance measurementPrescription drugsPublic contracts and procurementState and local government operations
This bill died when the 112th Congress ended
It never became law before the 112th Congress (2011–2012) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 22, 2011
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Jun 22, 2011
Introduced in Senate
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action June 22, 2011

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Medicare and Medicaid Fighting Fraud and Abuse to Save Taxpayers' Dollars Act or Medicare and Medicaid FAST Act - Amends part D (Prescription Drug Benefits) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to prohibit sponsors of prescription drug plans (PDPs) from paying claims for prescription drugs that do not include the valid National Provider Identifier for the drug's prescriber.

Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish procedures and rules to restrict access to the National Provider Identifier Registry in order to deter fraudulent use of it.

Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid), for any state that has established a State Prescription Drug Monitoring Program meeting certain requirements, to decrease by 10% the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) with respect to any amounts recovered by or paid to the state related to an overpayment due to fraud, waste, or abuse. Allows the state to use such amounts to support its State Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

Directs the Secretary of HHS and the Attorney General jointly to establish a Commission to examine interoperability and other issues related to State Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs.

Directs the Attorney General to: (1) update daily the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) database of persons registered to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act to reflect any changes in the information in the Death Master File of the Social Security Administration; (2) agree with the Commissioner of Social Security to obtain death information in order to update such database; (3) establish procedures and rules to restrict access to the database to deter its fraudulent use; and (4) establish procedures and rules to review and investigate pharmacy claims under Medicare part D that contain a registration number not assigned to a practitioner by the Attorney General under the Controlled Substances Act.

Amends SSA title XVIII to require certain annual reports to describe the types and financial costs to the Medicare program of improper payment vulnerabilities identified by Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs).

Requires the Secretary of HHS to develop a plan to revise the beneficiary incentive program under the Health Instance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to encourage greater participation by individuals in reporting fraud and abuse in the Medicare program.

Requires the Secretary of HHS to: (1) establish and implement procedures to eliminate the unnecessary collection, use, and display of Social Security account numbers of Medicare beneficiaries; and (2) ensure that each newly issued Medicare identification card meets specified requirements.

Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a pilot program utilizing smart card technology to evaluate its applicability to the Medicare program and whether such cards would be effective in preventing Medicare fraud.

Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish policies and procedures for prepayment review, which may include pre-certification, for all claims for reimbursement for durable medical equipment (DME) at high risk of waste, fraud, and abuse, including power wheelchairs.

Requires the Secretary of HHS, the HHS Inspector General, and the Attorney General to increase coordination and data sharing.

Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish: (1) automated prepayment review of all Medicare claims, (2) a plan to facilitate the inclusion of states in the Medicare-Medicaid Data Match Program, and (3) a plan that allows each state Medicaid agency access to relevant data on improper or erroneous Medicare payments for items or services for dual eligible individuals.

Prohibits Medicaid payments as well as payments under SSA title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) unless a claim contains a valid beneficiary identification number and a valid National Provider Identifier.

Directs the Secretary to establish Medicare administrative contractor error reduction incentives.

Requires the provider enrollment process and provider screening to be separate from any contract to serve as a Medicare administrative contractor.

Directs the Secretary of HHS to report to Congress on measurable metrics for improving Medicare contractor performance.

Amends SSA title XI to establish penalties for the illegal distribution of a Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP beneficiary identification number or billing privileges.


 Related & companion bills 2
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1251: Medicare and Medicaid FAST Act. 112th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-1251/
MLA
"S. 1251: Medicare and Medicaid FAST Act." 112th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-1251/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1251, 112th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-1251/.
Markdown link
[S. 1251: Medicare and Medicaid FAST Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-1251/)
Report a problem