Government
Despite tax debts, Medicare still pays
■ An occasional snapshot of current facts and trends in medicine.
Quick View. Posted July 28, 2008
Medicare participating entities -- including some doctors -- owe a total of more than $2 billion in taxes.
More than 27,000 physicians, hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies receiving Medicare payments in 2006 -- 6% of approximately 436,000 Medicare billing entities -- had more than $2 billion in federal tax debts, says a June report by the Government Accountability Office. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services noted in its formal response that in October, it will extend to fee-for-service Medicare a program by which tax delinquents' payments are docked. But time is running out: The government generally can't collect unpaid tax debt after 10 years.
Source: "Thousands of Medicare Providers Abuse the Federal Tax System," Government Accountability Office, June (link)
