Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Reps. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) February Porkers of the Month for attempting to impede the recovery of hundreds of millions in overpayments to Medicare providers in the state of California. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have implemented a sensible demonstration program to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in improper payments made to hospitals and healthcare providers in California, New York and Florida.  Using Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs), private sector auditing companies that specialize in uncovering both over and under payments to hospitals and healthcare providers, CMS has been able to reduce improper payments from 14.2 percent in 1996, to 4.4 percent in 2006, to 3.9 percent in 2007 according to a November 16, 2007 CMS statement.  That translates into $11 billion less in improper payments. 

RACs are part of a demonstration program begun by CMS in 2005 and slated to roll out nationwide in March 2008.  So far, in California, New and Florida, RACs have uncovered $357.2 million in overpayments and $247.4 million of that has been returned to the Medicare Trust Fund.  In Capps’ and Nunes’ home state of California, the RAC exposed $120 million in improper overpayments, according to CMS.  It should come as no surprise that the program is receiving push-back from the California delegation, since California hospitals have been forced to return tens of millions of dollars to Medicare as a result of improper overpayments exposed by recovery audits.

H.R. 4105, co-sponsored by Reps. Capps and Nunes, would place a one-year moratorium on the RAC program.  The bill appears to be nothing more than a misguided attempt to shield hospitals in California from having to repay the piper after years of receiving too much money from the Medicare system. While the bill calls for a moratorium pending a study, such a study (if necessary) could occur while the pilot program continues.  The suspension of a program such as recovery auditing is tantamount to killing it altogether.  If companies who perform this specialized auditing have no chance to recover their substantial investments, there is a good chance they will be less willing to bid on the work at all.

Despite Medicare officials’ pronouncements that the audits are a deterrent to fraud, Reps. Capps and Nunes are lining up to gut the program before it rolls out nationwide even though hundreds of millions of dollars are being funneled back into the Medicare Trust Fund.

For being more interested in kowtowing to pressure from hospitals in their districts that billed for millions they were not entitled to than in shielding the Medicare program and taxpayers from huge losses, CAGW names Reps. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) its February 2008 Porkers of the Month.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.  Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.