When FBI and Health and Human Services investigators announced earlier this summer they had snared more than 300 people trying to bilk Medicare out of $900 million, one might have concluded the corner had been turned in the fight against Medicare fraud. Fact is, it barely scratched the surface.
Last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers Medicare, estimated some $60 billion of American taxpayer money was lost to fraud, waste, abuse and improper payments. That’s more than 10 percent of Medicare’s total budget.
A major issue facing those who hunt down Medicare fraud is the sheer volume of claims and payments involved. Medicare’s contractors process 4.5 million claims every day.
Source: Data analysis hunts for Medicare fraud FEDERAL NEWS RADIO