In 2015, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that taxpayers lost $136 billion to improper payments, a low-end estimate that mostly came from Medicare and Medicaid. The two popular and costly federal health care programs are growing rapidly, yet they lose 10 percent or more of their budget to improper payments and fraud every year.
Congress hasn’t prioritized stopping the problem, instead working on passage of a bill earlier this year that might save $6 million annually. (For a point of comparison, that effort would save one in every 22,667 dollars officially lost to improper payments in 2015.) Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. (F, 2%) has halted action on a bill with widespread, bipartisan support that would create more budget transparency for lawmakers and taxpayers alike. –
Source: Taxpayers continue to be bilked by Medicare, Medicaid fraud CONSERVATIVE REVIEW