On April 30, before a Congressional committee, Gloria Jarmon, Deputy Inspector General for Audit Services for the Office of Inspector General unveiled a bleak picture of Medicare. "Improper Medicare payments cost taxpayers and beneficiaries about $50 billion a year," she said. The bipartisan committee was appalled, and rightfully so. This astounding volume of waste represents more than the annual budgets of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor and Department of Transportation combined. And the reality is that over-billing by hospitals has brought the nation's marquee healthcare program to the brink of insolvency.
