Obama signs Roskam Medicare plan

President Barack Obama Thursday signed into law a plan from U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam to try to curb fraud in the Medicare system.

The proposal will, among other things, better link the federal Medicare system and state-run Medicaid systems to try to better catch people who are trying to work over one system or the other.

And it will expand the program that rewards seniors for alerting the government to questionable practices by their doctors.

"These measures will make sure taxpayer dollars are used for those who need them most, not to line the pockets of crooks," Roskam, a Wheaton Republican, said.

Roskam worked on the plan with U.S. Rep. John Carney, a Delaware Democrat.

"In this Congress, it's not easy to find areas where Democrats and Republicans agree, but fighting waste, fraud, and abuse while saving billions of taxpayer dollars just makes sense," Carney said.