$ 13 billion in improper payments made by Medicaid

In the fourth year of implementation of the Improper Payments Information Act of 20021 (IPIA), major executive branch agencies reported a total improper payment estimate of about $55 billion for fiscal year 2007. This increase from the prior year estimate of $41 billion was primarily attributable to a component of the Medicaid program reporting improper payments for the first time totaling about $13 billion for fiscal year 2007. We view this increased reporting as a positive step to improve transparency over the full magnitude of improper payments across the federal government.

The objective of this report is to provide summary data and preliminary analysis of the improper payment estimates reported by federal executive branch agencies (federal agencies) in their fiscal year 2007 performance and accountability reports (PAR) or annual reports. We obtained this information during our audit of the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007.

Source/More:  GAO report D08377r, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08377r.pdf?source=ra