$36,731,130,000: Improper Medicaid Payments Skyrocket

Improper payments made by the Medicaid program climbed from approximately $29,149,680,000 in fiscal 2015 to $36,731,130,000 in fiscal 2017, according to data published by the Department of Health and Human Services.

That is an increase of $7,581,450,000--or 26 percent.

“Despite efforts to reduce improper payments in the Medicaid program by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees the program, overall improper payments continue to increase—rising to about $37 billion in fiscal year 2017 compared to $29.1 billion in fiscal year 2015,” GAO Health Care Director Carolyn Yocom told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today.

“The size and complexity of Medicaid make the program particularly vulnerable to improper payments—including payments made for people not eligible for Medicaid or made for services not actually provided,” Yocom said in her written testimony.

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