Q: How many Medicare dollars a year are chalked up to errors or waste, fraud and abuse?
A: The annual audit of Medicare’s finances showed the Department of Health and Human Services has made substantial progress to keep better track of the tax dollars used to pay for the health care services of 39 million older and disabled Americans. Just a few years ago, the first-such accountability report caused an uproar on Capitol Hill when it revealed a whopping $23.2 billion in improper Medicare payments were made in 1996. That year, 14 cents out of every Medicare dollar paid to providers, including doctors and hospitals, were improperly made. In the year 2000, HHS has cut this figure in half to $11.9 billion. Sadly, that’s still a staggering figure. Obviously, much work remains before the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the agency that runs Medicare, receives a clean bill of fiscal health. Washington needs to be able to guarantee Medicare beneficiaries, health care providers and American taxpayers that the federal government is not asleep at the switch. Taxpayers work too hard and too long to have their money mis-used. Medical providers need less red tape and more efficient management from the federal bureaucracy so they can focus on delivering care, not endless paperwork. And older Americans ought to feel secure in Medicare’s long-term stability and capacity to adapt to 21st century medicine, including coverage for prescription drugs.
Q: How is it possible to allow $11.9 billion dollars to be inappropriately paid out in the first place?
A: I agree it sounds outrageous. That’s why I raised this issue to the new leader of HHS, Secretary Tommy Thompson, when he appeared in March before the Senate Budget Committee. The former Wisconsin governor pledged his commitment to reform the management structure of the department’s operations, including the installation of a unified financial system. From where I stand, not one Medicare dollar should go unaccounted, let alone 11.9 billion dollars. I look forward to monitoring the spring cleaning that is planned for HCFA. As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I’ll hold the agency under close scrutiny to make sure efforts to clean up the books and improve computer systems aren’t swept under the rug. Washington can’t afford to make $11.9 billion mistakes when it comes to Medicare’s finances. Every dollar wasted is a dollar that doesn't help a patient. The bottom line is we could help pay for a lot of prescription drugs for older Americans with $11.9 billion. Beyond getting Secretary Thompson’s assurances that he’s plugged into the problem, I’ve asked government auditors to investigate improper Medicare payments made for non-eligible patients, including prison inmates, the deceased and deported individuals. The sooner Washington finds lasting remedies to treat Medicare’s financial woes, the better positioned we’ll be to bring the health insurance program up to speed for current and future recipients.