In the New York Times ‘Room for Debate’ blog, a conversation among experts about claims of fraud associated with skyrocketing federal disability costs.

Officials say the government can realize huge savings by eliminating fraud, abuse and waste in Medicare, Medicaid and the Social Security disability insurance program. The president’s 2010 budget proposes to spend $4.3 billion over five years attacking the problem.

But is fraud really the cause of rising costs?

Jennifer L. Erkulwater, of the University of Richmond, says no. She says changes in disability criteria have made more people eligible for benefits.

Richard V. Burkhauser, of Cornell University, says the existing system offers people with disabilities financial incentives to stop working, and needs to be reformed.

Morley White, an administrative law judge in Cleveland for the Social Security Administration, says there is too much emphasis on alleged fraud and not enough on reforming the system.

See also:

Budget targets frauds and errors in social programs — Wall Street Journal The White House estimates that every dollar spent chasing fraud in Social Security will save $11 in erroneous payments.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 5:51 am and is filed under Medicaid/Medicare, NOT2BEMISSED, Obama administration, budget, insurance, social security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.