A recent government report indicates that an estimated $2.8 billion in federal Medicare spending in 2006 was improper - and auditors were told to ignore established policies that would have detected the waste.
A front-page New York Times article chronicling the report indicated that Medicare officials instructed auditors to ignore a key provision meant to ensure that medical equipment goes to actual patients. As a result, the auditors overlooked the fact that improper spending accounted for nearly one-third of medical equipment payments in 2006.
Improper Medicare spending hurts patients who really need it - and causes our government to fall more and more into debt. Tell Congress they must hold Medicare more accountable - so the service goes to people who really need it!
