Today the Department of Health and Human Services issued its annual report on the number of improper payments through Medicare. The report shows an increase in improper payments to $13.5 billion in Fiscal Year 1999 from $12.6 billion in Fiscal Year 1998. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, maintains aggressive oversight of the agencies that monitor Medicare waste, fraud and abuse. His bill to expand the jurisdiction of state Medicaid Fraud Control Units to include Medicare cases was signed into law last December. Grassley made the comment about today's announcement.
"This tests my patience. Year after year, the government wastes billions of dollars on improper Medicare payments. Every dollar wasted is a dollar that doesn't help a patient. Some of this waste probably goes to innocent billing mistakes. Some of it undoubtedly goes to fraud. With all of its available resources, the government should be able to stop this milking of the Treasury. The taxpayers are not cash cows for bad actors in the health care system.
"I plan to monitor the implementation into law of my bill expanding the jurisdiction of the Medicaid Fraud Control Units. When these units run across Medicare fraud, now they have the power to make a case. Cutting their bureaucracy puts another tool in the anti-fraud arsenal."