The NYT has a nice piece reporting how the Bush administration has opted not to try to collect tens of millions of dollars in excess payments to insurers operating within the Medicare program that were uncovered in random audits. As the article points out, the reason for not trying to take back these excess payments to insurers is not clear.
The same article points out that Medicare is actively pursuing 135,000 beneficiaries for money they owe for the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The money was supposed to have been taken out of their Social Security checks, but the agency made a mistake and failed to deduct the insurance premiums.
Juxtaposing these two cases is an effective way to put both in a context that readers can immediately understand.
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