CMS's $50M mistake

A "data processing error" at CMS has caused the agency to incorrectly refund 231,000 Medicare recipients a total of $50 million. The recipients were mistakenly repaid an average of $215 for several months' worth of their prescription drug coverage. But no worries, the government assured recipients that it would be getting that money back. Medicare beneficiaries were also mistakenly told that Medicare would no longer automatically deduct their prescription drug premiums from their Social Security checks each month. "This was our mistake, and we are working right now to fix it as quickly as possible…We're making sure that the plans continue to get the payments they need to continue coverage," Mark McClellan told The Washington Post in an interview. Most likely this will end up being a major headache for CMS and a minor nuisance for Medicare beneficiaries. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) raised an important issue, however: some cash-strapped recipients may have difficulty refunding the money. He suggest that CMS collect the repayments in small increments to avoid any problems.

For the details:
- read this Washington Post report