Medicare
chief was OK to keep data from Congress |
Former Medicare administrator
Thomas Scully broke no law when he repeatedly directed his chief cost analyst
to withhold information members of Congress sought about the cost of the
Medicare prescription-drug bill, a report released yesterday concludes. |
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The finding by the Health and
Human Services Department's independent Office of Inspector General relies
heavily on a fresh opinion by Bush administration's legal advisers, which
concluded that the analyst was not legally independent enough to override his
boss's order. |
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Critics of that view, who
included Republicans who were in the House of Representatives when the Clinton
administration was in power, contend that Congress can legislate wisely only
when executive branch experts share their information and expert opinions,
especially about the costs of government programs. |
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The new report, signed by Dara
Corrigan, the acting principal deputy inspector general, found that five times
between June and October 2003, Scully blocked the efforts of his chief actuary,
Richard Foster, to comply with congressional Democrats' requests for data about
the cost of the Medicare drug bill. |
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"Our investigation failed
to produce evidence that criminal statutes were violated in connection with the
failure to respond to congressional requests," the report concludes. |
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Before 2003, the Medicare
actuary's expertise and figures usually were provided to lawmakers who were
debating Medicare legislation. |
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The finding that Scully's
actions violated no laws contradicts a report in April from the Congressional
Research Service. |
Lawyers for the General
Accounting Office, Congress's watch-dog agency, will be final arbiters of the
conflicting opinions.
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