A Study In Contrasts

by hilzoy

From the NYT:

"Private insurance companies participating in Medicare have been allowed to keep tens of millions of dollars that should have gone to consumers, and the Bush administration did not properly audit the companies or try to recover money paid in error, Congressional investigators say in a new report. (...)

Under federal law, Medicare officials are supposed to audit the financial records of at least one-third of the insurance companies each year. But the investigators said the Bush administration had fallen far short of that goal and had never met the “statutory requirement.”

Indeed, they said, the proportion of companies audited by Medicare declined steadily — to 14 percent in 2006 from 24 percent in 2001 — despite a steady growth in Medicare payments to the plans. Those payments now total $75 billion a year, about one-fifth of all Medicare spending.

The Bush administration did not take issue with the findings. (...)

In 2003, Medicare audited 49 of the 220 organizations participating in the program. Auditors found significant errors at 41 companies, but Medicare officials took no action on the findings. As a result of the errors, the auditors said, insurers kept “$59 million that beneficiaries could have received in additional benefits, lower co-payments or lower premiums.” The report did not identify the companies.

Paul Caban, assistant director of the financial management team at the Government Accountability Office, said the Medicare agency’s response was puzzling. “What is the value of conducting these audits if you do not act on the findings?” Mr. Caban asked."

Hmm. The government audited less than half the number of companies it was supposed to, and when its auditors found that those companies owed it money, they did nothing. It sounds as though the government just isn't that concerned about whether or not our tax dollars are used as they were supposed to be used, right?

Think again:

"In separate action, the Bush administration is vigorously pursuing money that it says is owed to insurance companies by Medicare beneficiaries. The Medicare agency has sent letters to more than 135,000 people saying they still owe premiums for prescription drug coverage provided in 2006. In most cases, the premiums were supposed to have been withheld from monthly Social Security checks, but the government withheld the wrong amounts or nothing at all."

So: when companies get more money than they should have, whether through error or through fraud, the government does nothing. But when ordinary citizens are given too much money because the government screws up, they are "vigorously pursued."

Something is wrong with this picture.

Comments

[Mr Furious]

So, when my head is done exploding after reading that, will I owe the government money or the insurance company?

[spaghetti happens]

"The Bush administration did not take issue with the findings." Of course not. This will once again allow Republicans to claim--despite the fact that it's their fault--that government social programs are wasteful.

That argument could be partially refuted by the second part of the story, which is that Bush is making sure to go after beneficiaries who owe money to Medicare ... except we know Bush is doing that because he and the American Crony Class despise and disrespect average American citizens, the ones who pay the bills.

[BigHank53]

If you were richer you'd understand how it's supposed to work.

[Incertus (Brian)]

There's nothing wrong from this picture, if it's taken in context with everything else the Bush administration has done. Go after corporate tax cheats? No way--but hammer anyone who might be adding a kid onto a tax return to get the EIC. Go after KBR and Halliburton, etc. for bogus charges in Iraq? Not a chance--but demote Bunnatine Greenhouse for doing her job. Same story, over and over again.

[Batocchio]

Something wrong with this picture? As Brian says, it's business as usual for the Bushies!

I'm trying to think of a single instance where they've worked for the average citizen versus a corporation. I'm drawing a blank.

[gwangung]

Hm...and I would wager that the losses on the corporate level are higher than from individuals (not from any special inherent greed, mind you...but just from the general rule of the larger impact of collectives and scale....)

[Incertus (Brian)]

Exponentially higher, gwangung, I'd bet.

[Califlander]

The only thing wrong with this picture is that somehow you were allowed to see it.

Normally, the Republicans try to keep things better hidden.