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More on government waste

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Statalyzer

Posted: Nov 18 2009, 03:33 PM

*The D-Element*

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Joined: 25-January 06

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_government_waste

QUOTE

More than $98 billion in taxpayer dollars spent by government agencies was wasted, much of it on questionable claims for tax credits and Medicare benefits, representing an increase of $26 billion from the previous year. In all, about 5 percent of spending in federal programs in fiscal year 2009 was improper.

QUOTE

In the 2009 report, the government officially reported questionable Medicare payments of roughly $36 billion, but that amount will be revised upward to about $48 billion next year as the Health and Human Services Department fully converts to a new methodology that imposes stricter documentation requirements.

QUOTE

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who chairs a Senate panel on federal financial management, said he worried that the latest numbers "may still be just the tip of the iceberg" since they don't include estimates for several programs such as the Medicare prescription drug plan.

Not sure which is the scariest:
1)That $98 billion was wasted.
2)That 1 out of every 20 dollars spent by the Feds was either ineptitude or corruption
3)That $98 billion wasted represents only 1/20th of what we're spending, or
4)That these numbers are likely underestimating how bad it really is.

Raider

Posted: Nov 18 2009, 04:56 PM

Chief Slapaho

Group: Admin
Posts: 7,373
Member No.: 8
Joined: 25-January 06

QUOTE

Moron government waste.

Thread title FIFY.

Statalyzer	Posted: Nov 18 2009, 06:06 PM
The D-Element Group: Admin Posts: 10,061 Member No.: 14 Joined: 25-January 06	Nice. :D

Raider	Posted: Nov 24 2009, 08:33 AM
Chief Slapaho Group: Admin Posts: 7,373 Member No.: 8 Joined: 25-January 06	I wonder what they mean by "questionable Medicare payments." Payments made by Medicare on behalf of patients that shouldn't be covered? Or payments for services that Medicare does not cover? I work in the medical billing industry and I can certainly see how Medicare could be overpaying. They have a very fast turnaround on payments, and as long as your paperwork looks right, as in is properly formatted, it's not too difficult to receive payment. I never would've guessed the total amount to be in the dozens of billions of dollars range, though.

Statalyzer	Posted: Nov 24 2009, 10:26 AM
The D-Element Group: Admin Posts: 10,061 Member No.: 14 Joined: 25-January 06	[Senator Harry Reid]Dozens of billions? That's nothing - look how much bigger our national debt is than that. Us worrying about losing dozens of billions is like you worrying about pocket change.[/Senator Harry Reid]

Raider	Posted: Nov 25 2009, 08:34 AM
Chief Slapaho Group: Admin Posts: 7,373 Member No.: 8 Joined: 25-January 06	You have a point, Senator Reid. Why worry about a few measley billions when we have TRILLIONS to worry about? [Obama]Where's the problem? We're a few trillion in the red? No problem, I can print up a trillion dollars overnight. [/Obama] (Posted Image)

Statalyzer	Posted: Feb 4 2010, 05:44 PM
The D-Element Group: Admin Posts: 10,061 Member No.: 14 Joined: 25-January 06	(Posted Image)

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