OIG: Medicare paid $120M on illegal immigrant, prisoner care

Medicare paid more than $120 million on healthcare provided to inmates and illegal immigrants--two groups of patients that the federal program generally does not pay for, according to reports released yesterday by the Office of Inspector General. The OIG found that Medicare in 2011 paid $33.6 million to providers for incarcerated care and $91.6 million on illegal aliens, the Associated Press reported. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services didn't always receive information promptly about prisoners and illegal patients, OIG said. CMS has injected $77 million into technology (Fraud Prevention System) to flag potential cases of fraud or improper payments before the payments are issued.