The nation is now relying on a level headed chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in this case Rep. Darrell Issa, to provide level headed oversight and go after fraud and waste. But that’s not going to really happen. We’re talking about a partisan Republican, who called President Obama's White House "one of the most corrupt administrations."
Politifact: Rep. Darrell Issa said Medicare alone accounts for $125 billion in waste and fraud annually.
Said Issa: "We can save $125 billion in simply not giving out money to Medicare recipients that don't exist for procedures that didn't happen. These are real dollars.”
A great sound bite that reinforces the idea that government can’t do anything right and the public (seniors) can’t be trusted. But he’s completely wrong. A bad first step for the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
About a third of Medicare's improper payments are the result of a claim not having enough, or proper, documentation. Upon further investigation, many of those claims are ultimately deemed proper. Also, not all improper claims can be completely recouped. For example, say a surgeon was paid $10,000 for an inpatient procedure when Medicare only reimburses for an outpatient procedure that costs $5,000. The government wouldn't recoup the full $10,000, just the $5,000.
In other words, the government wouldn't end up with $125 billion even if all improper payments were eliminated for all those services, including Medicare … the report on which Issa based the $125 billion figure shows that the Medicare portion of that total is $47.9 billion. That alone makes Issa's figure simply wrong.
Are we expected to believe anything else from Issa in the future? I hope not.
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