Lax Medicare Oversight Said Behind $580 Million in Faulty Outlays

An estimated $580 million of the $1 billion that Medicare paid to providers for psychotherapy services during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic were improper reimbursements that did not comply with program requirements, a government watchdog agency reported Thursday.

The HHS Office of Inspector General blamed inadequate oversight by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and “unprecedented challenges” created by the pandemic, for allowing the payments - $348 million for telehealth services and $232 million for non-telehealth services – to go through.

The audit report and its estimates are based on roughly $1 billion in Medicare Part B ...