Not Rocket Science

EXECUTIVE MEMO

Not Rocket Science

or years, the supercomputers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have been used to spot worrisome patterns in nuclear weapons designs and satellite reports. Now officials there are reaching out to nontraditional agencies and private-sector clients to keep their world-class machines humming.

The most recent deal is a two-year, $6 million contract with the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). Under the agreement, Los Alamos will use its computer power to analyze Medicare data so officials can root out fraud and waste.

It's no small project: Each year, HCFA processes more than 800 million Medicare claims totaling $180 billion, about $18 billion of which is wasteful or fraudulent, according to Sen. William S. Cohen, R-Maine, an outspoken critic of Medicare fraud.

Computer specialists at Los Alamos are also advising HCFA as it consolidates its multiple billing systems-handled by more than 70 separate contractors-into a unified system. This move should help catch duplicate claims that historically hadn't been noticed.

Los Alamos spokesman Jim Danneskiold says it's a myth that national labs like Los Alamos have turned to alternative sources of funding because of budget cuts. In fact, Congress passed legislation in 1989 (sponsored by New Mexico's Senators, Republican Pete V. Domenici and Democrat Jeff Bingaman) that was intended to encourage these sorts of collaborative projects.