A bipartisan bill (S-2948) newly offered in the Senate would target improper payments by federal agencies, a long-running issue that was the focus of laws enacted in 2002, 2010 and 2012 but that continues to be a focus of GAO and IG reports and OMB guidance.
By the government’s definition, improper payments are not only overpayments but also underpayments and correct payments for which some required documentation is lacking. GAO’s most recent estimate is that such payments increased by $7 billion in 2016 over 2015 to $144 billion, 93 percent of which was overpayments–with Medicare, Medicaid and the earned income tax credit accounting for about three-quarters.
The bill, sponsored by the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, would: require agencies to take new steps to prevent improper payments from happening; focus more attention on programs at the highest risk; and require the IG council to issue guidance to improve compliance with previously enacted laws. It also would require agencies to collaborate with each other and with non-federal entities to target the most common causes of improper payments, including eligibility determinations in federal benefits programs such as Medicaid that are managed by the states.
Other bills already pending (S-2374 and HR-4929) would expand the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act by widening access by agencies and IG offices to the SSA’s death records database.
