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Fact Sheets Listed below are Senior Medicare Patrols-related fact sheets for 2001 and archived back to 1999. For further information, please contact Moya Benoit Thompson or Chris Rhatigan at 202-401-4541. The United States General Accounting Office estimates that $1 out of every $7 spent on Medicare is paid inappropriately due to error, fraud, or abuse. Last year alone, Medicare lost nearly $13 billion to improper claims. (May 3, 2001) Older Americans compose a larger proportion of the United States' population than ever before. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, since 1900 the percentage of Americans aged 65 and older has tripled, and the older population itself is getting older. Reducing Payment Errors and Stopping Fraud in Medicare (May 2, 2001) The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plays a critical role in ensuring that beneficiaries and taxpayers get their money's worth from the Medicare program. Each year Medicare spends more than $220 billion on health care benefits for nearly 40 million senior citizens and other Americans with disabilities. (August 2, 2000) The General Accounting Office estimates that billions of Medicare dollars are lost each year to waste, fraud and abuse. These losses are due, to a large extent, to the many ways in which the funds are dispersed as well as to the sheer magnitude of health care expenditures. Since 1993 the Clinton Administration has focused much attention on fighting waste, fraud and abuse which has led to a series of investigations, indictments and convictions, as well as new management tools to identify wasteful mispayments to health care providers. |
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Last Updated: 9/9/2004 | report issues regarding this page return to top of page |
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