GAO takes hard look at anti-fraud effort inefficiencies in Medicare, Medicaid

Politico Pro: GAO: Medicare Wastes Money In Fraud Work
The Medicaid program has government employees and contractors doing some of the exact same work, which is wasting government time and money, according to a new Government Accountability Office report to be released on Monday. Medicare, meanwhile, could do more to use data programmed into claims processing systems to stop fraud, GAO said in a separate report. GAO made the recommendations in reports requested by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and others. The reports come as lawmakers are likely to look to both programs for potential savings in the fiscal cliff negotiations and are part of the constant effort on Capitol Hill to reduce waste in both programs (Haberkorn, 12/10).