Medicare hid fraud, report says

[babylonsister]

Medicare hid fraud, report says
A federal report suggested that Medicare deceived Congress by ordering auditors to ignore the agency's own policies to detect fraud, waste and abuse.
Posted on Thu, Aug. 21, 2008

BY JAY WEAVER


Medicare officials may have manipulated their 2006 audit to mislead Congress about the agency's fight against fraud in the medical equipment industry, according to a damning inspector general report expected to be released early next week.

Some veteran members of Congress said Thursday they felt deceived by the agency managing the giant entitlement program for the elderly and predicted lawmakers would hold oversight hearings in the fall to grill Medicare officials.

A draft of the report said Medicare boasted it was gaining control over fraud, waste and abuse in the health insurance program, when in fact the agency's payment error rate was four times higher than it was touting for medical equipment reimbursements, according to a leading lawmaker.

The actual error rate: 31.5 percent.

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, criticized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for irregularities cited in the draft report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General.

''I want to know what happened, who's responsible, who will be held accountable and what the {Human Services} secretary will do about it,'' said the senator, who was briefed on the draft report. ``If people cooked the books, manipulated the methodology or told the contractor to ignore the rules, those individuals need to take the heat.''

more...

http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/652782.html

[Indi Guy]

1. No One is Ever Held Accountable But the Whistleblowers..

...they get fired.

[Frustratedlady]

2. Look at how the numbers went up since Bush took office.

There is a pattern with this administration. How many times have you seen that a department administrator was told to change the numbers or hide the facts? This, in addition to many other signs, is the reason why they can't afford for a Democrat to take over, unless they just throw up their hands and say, "To hell with it!"

What is it about fraud in Florida? It is rampant in so many areas. I hope they throw them into a tailspin they can't come out of. This is incredible.

Go, Grassley!