Payment Errors Continue To Plague Medicare Program

Ashkenaz added that AdvanceMed is reviewing fiscal 2009 payments to make sure all errors are accurately counted. A company spokesman could not immediately comment on the report Tuesday afternoon.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, requested the review after uncovering similar discrepancies with the agency's fiscal 2006 error numbers.

"This report reveals that the way the government is tracking erroneous Medicare payments for durable medical equipment still isn't working," Grassley said in a statement. "Medicare officials owe it to taxpayers and beneficiaries to get a handle on the level of waste, fraud and abuse."

Medicare officials estimated their total payment error rate for fiscal 2008 was 3.6 percent. That figure includes payments to doctors and hospitals, along with payments for medical equipment.

An error does not necessarily mean the government was defrauded, but it can leave the program open to fraud.

More than 100,000 companies are registered as suppliers for Medicare. Acting as government contractors, they generally handle the logistics of submitting a claim and obtaining government payment for patients' medical equipment.

The largest equipment suppliers include companies like Lincare Holdings Inc., which provides home oxygen equipment, and Invacare Corp., which distributes wheelchairs, adjustable beds and other supplies.