White House Announces Plan to Crack Down on Medicare Fraud
Published: 2010-06-10 18:15:51By: oe Cantlupe | HealthLeaders Media | March 10, 2010
President Obama announced a new effort to crackdown on waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid and other programs through expanded use of payment recapture audits.
The audits offer specialized private auditors financial incentives to root out improper payments and have been demonstrated to be highly effective through pilot programs, according to the White House.
A presidential memorandum would direct all federal departments and agencies to expand and intensify their use of the payment recapture audits under their current authority.
In 2009, improper payments totaled $98 billion, with $54 billion stemming from Medicare and Medicaid, the White House said.