July 26, 2001: New Medicare Head Says Two-Thirds of Est. $12B in Fraudulent Hospital Invoices to Medicare ‘Probably Billing Mistakes’

Thomas A. Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), tells Congress that he believes only a third of the estimated $12 billion in improper payments to health care providers is fraudulent. He says “the rest is probably billing mistakes.” Scully, a former lobbyist for the health industry, admits the inspector general would probably disagree with his estimate. [US Congress, 7/26/2001, pp. 27 ]