Government Paid Millions for Dead Patients' Medical Costs

Article

WASHINGTON, DC-A difference in database records led the government to pay more than $4 million to cover medical costs of patients who were decease.

The Health Care Financing Administration made the payments even though Medicare listed the beneficiaries as dead. An investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services has found the Medicare agency paid premiums for 200 people who died between 1991 and 1999. There are $3.2 million misdirected funds outstanding, but the department has recovered $4 million to date. They have also updated their records and databases to prevent this from happening in the future.

There are more than 40 million elderly and disabled Americans who receive Medicare health insurance.

Information from www.washingtonpost.com

Newsletter

Stay prepared and protected with Infection Control Today's newsletter, delivering essential updates, best practices, and expert insights for infection preventionists.

Recent Videos
David J. Weber, MD, MPH, president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Brenna Doran PhD, MA, hospital epidemiology and infection prevention for the University of California, San Francisco, and a coach and consultant of infection prevention; Jessica Swain, MBA, MLT, director of infection prevention and control for Dartmouth Health in Lebanon, New Hampshire; and Shanina Knighton, associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing and senior nurse scientist at MetroHealth System in Cleveland, Ohio
Brenna Doran PhD, MA, hospital epidemiology and infection prevention for the University of California, San Francisco, and a coach and consultant of infection prevention; Jessica Swain, MBA, MLT, director of infection prevention and control for Dartmouth Health in Lebanon, New Hampshire; and Shanina Knighton, associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing and senior nurse scientist at MetroHealth System in Cleveland, Ohio
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.