Newly released audits from CMS reveal 35 of 37 health plans audited for 2007 overcharged the federal government and were typically overpaid by several hundred thousand dollars, according to NPR.
The audits were obtained by the Center for Public Integrity through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Although the overpayments have been paid back, many plans are still appealing the findings, according to the report.
The audits revealed payers often overcharged the government by overstating the severity of certain medical conditions. The audits examined 70 medical conditions and, overall, the 37 plans examined were three times more likely to overcharge Medicare than to not charge enough, according to the report.
Five Humana plans, three UnitedHealth Group plans and four Wellpoint plans are among the insurers that were overpaid. Group Health Cooperative and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan were the only two health plans examined that had no net overpayments.
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