Waste of the Day: Medicaid and Medicare Remain Biggest Culprits for Improper Payments
This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire
By Adam Andrzejewski
Real Clear Wire
Topline: The federal government spent $236 billion on improper payments in 2023, according to a recent audit from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Medicaid and Medicare were responsible for $101.5 billion of the payments (43%). Auditors at OpenTheBooks have continuously warned about financial mismanagement at the two agencies, most recently publishing an oversight report in 2023.
Key facts: Improper payments are payments the government accidentally sends to the wrong person or for the wrong amount.
Last year, OpenTheBooks reported that the federal government had made $2.9 trillion in improper payments between 2004 and 2022,
