The recent passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act presents an even greater imperative for the federal government to reduce the number of improper payments.
Five Ways To Fight Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Aid
The federal government annually makes trillions of dollars of payments of all kinds to private citizens, businesses, state and local governments and NGOs for Medicare benefits, disability claims, tax credits, grants, and loans to small businesses. The great majority of these are proper and provide benefits to the individual or business to support a need.
However, since 2003, agencies estimate they have made about $1.7 trillion in improper payments—payments that either should not have been made or were made in the wrong amount due to agency processing errors, applicant errors, or fraud.
While events such as the enactment of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA) and Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina presented unique challenges to ensuring proper payment of benefits, the recent passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act presents an even greater imperative to get payments right.