The members of the council would be given the authority to make broad recommendations about Medicare, but they would focus on setting appropriate payment rates for Medicare Part A and Part B. The council would give two annual recommendation reports: the one due by October 1st of each year would deal with Medicare Part A and the one due by December 31st of each year would address Part B. These recommendations would be sent to the White House for the president’s approval before being brought before Congress. This legislation, if enacted will go into effect after Obama’s first term as president on September 15, 2014.

Other proposals are also being given consideration with respect to Medicare. In particular, the Obama administration wants to give the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) the authority to determine cuts and makes other changes to Medicare.

Most Medicare fraud cases are easy to detect through investigating the money involved in bank transfers. However, this case was a little harder to track because the group owned two check cashing stores where they would cash between $30,000 and $80,000 several times a week. In order to deter authorities from the fraud, the defendants varied whose name the companies were kept under. If the defendants are convicted, they could face up to years in prison on each count of conspiracy, healthcare fraud and money laundering, and up to two years for each count of aggravated identity theft.

Medicare fraud is common in Florida due to things like its easy access to other countries as an escape route. In the past three years, $1.5 billion in health care fraud cases have been prosecuted. Miami single-handedly had 146 convictions since 2007 in Medicare fraud cases. This case exemplifies the crackdown on Medicare fraud. It was one of the fastest health care fraud turnabouts: it only took two months from the tip to the indictment. This shows that people are becoming more aware of the problem and trying to solve it.