Undercover Agents Posing As Patients To Cut Health Care Fraud? We Vote: No

Republican Senator Tom Coburn has suggested that the federal government could cut health care costs by cutting fraud. True, and sensible. To do so, he also suggested that the federal government send undercover agents posing as patients to hospitals and doctors. Our take: this is sick. 

It’s hard enough to get into a doctor’s office for a visit – we don’t think we need our first-thing-in-the-morning appointment to go to some patient poseur.
 
There’s more on this in today’s Times, at http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/how-much-fraud-and-abuse-is-there-in-u-s-health-care/?hp.