Feds expect to collect $4.7B in insurance fraud penalties

By AMANDA SEITZ
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is estimating that it could collect as much as $4.7 billion from insurance companies with newer and tougher penalties for submitting improper charges on the taxpayers’ tab for Medicare Advantage care. For years, federal watchdogs have sounded the alarm on questionable charges through the government’s private version of the Medicare program. Those investigators are raising the possibility that insurance companies may be bilking taxpayers of billions of dollars every year by claiming members are sicker than they really are to receive inflated payments.