Congress and the President have two months to hammer out a budget before the country teeters on another fiscal cliff. One big issue is the $85 billion in spending cuts on defense and domestic programs imposed by the sequester. Some Republicans want roughly half of that restored for defense while Obama wants a similar amount reinstated for domestic programs.
Imagine how easy that would be if the government could reclaim the more than $100 billion wasted annually on overpayments and fraud.
The Government Accountability Office has confirmed the Obama administration’s worst fears that Medicare and Medicaid fraud and overpayments are spinning out of control and posing a serious long-term budget challenge to Congress and the White House.
In fiscal 2014 alone, 22 agencies approved improper Medicare, Medicaid and Earned Income Tax Credit payments totaling an astounding $124.7 billion—an increase of $18.9 billion or 15 percent from the previous year, according to a new report. Those overpayments accounted for over 75 percent of the estimated government-wide overpayments or improper payments.
Source: Audit Uncovers $124.7 B of Overpayments and Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid | The Fiscal Times