More than $91.6 million in Medicare payments went to services for illegal aliens in recent years
Federal regulations prohibit Medicare payments from benefiting people in the country illegally. Legal aliens are permitted to receive Medicare benefits.
CAIRCO Research
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Audit (A-07-12-01116)
01-23-2013
Medicare Improperly Paid Providers Millions of Dollars for Unlawfully Present Beneficiaries Who Received Services During 2009 Through 2011
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Summary
While Federal law permits Medicare payments for services rendered to an alien who is lawfully present in the United States, Medicare benefits are not allowable for aliens who are not lawfully present. If a Medicare claim was processed after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) data systems indicated that a Medicare beneficiary was unlawfully present in the United States, CMS was able to prevent the payment. However, when CMS's systems did not indicate the unlawful presence status until after a claim had been processed, CMS was not able to detect and recoup the improper payment.