The Attorney General's Commitment to Health Care Issues

Attorney General Tom Reilly is committed to using his unique role as the Commonwealth's chief law enforcement officer to protect consumers' access to quality health care services. The Attorney General works in partnership with communities, private and public institutions, federal and local law enforcement agencies, and the Legislature to protect and serve the Commonwealth's health care needs. Attorney General Reilly will continue to promote the health and welfare of all citizens in the Commonwealth by drawing upon the resources and expertise of his entire office to improve the health care system.

The Attorney General is committed to the following initiatives:

Aggressive prosecution of individuals and institutions who steal valuable resources from Medicaid or other parts of the health care system.

Enforcement of existing laws that govern health care industries, including anti-trust laws that ensure the market remains competitive, civil rights laws that protect the most vulnerable citizens from discrimination, and insurance laws that regulate the sale and pricing of health coverage.

Effective representation of state agencies that administer the health care industry in the Commonwealth.

Strong leadership to develop beneficial partnerships with communities and industries, to improve and hold accountable the agencies that serve the Commonwealth's health care needs and to work to find answers to problems in the health care system.

Public education to ensure that the citizens of the Commonwealth understand their rights and the responsibilities of the health care system.

The Office supports these health care initiatives through a wide range of activities:

• Prosecuting people who abuse or neglect nursing home patients;
• Operating an Insurance Hotline to help consumers who have problems with health care matters;
• Intervening in rate cases to keep Medigap rates affordable;
• Investigating and prosecuting health care providers who steal taxpayers' money by over-billing Medicaid, or who engage in unfair or deceptive practices;
• Monitoring financially distressed hospitals and other not-for-profit health care providers to ensure they are accountable to the public;
• Reviewing hospital and HMO mergers, consolidations, and conversions from not-for-profit to for-profit status;
• Promoting the Attorney General's Community Benefit Guidelines for hospitals and HMOs through initiatives that encourage accountability and enhance public access to useful information about community benefits programs;
• Representing state government agencies responsible for health care programs and policies; and
• Developing policy initiatives to address continuing problems in the health care system.