CMS expands oversight to include Medicaid, SCHIP and prescription drug plans.(LEGAL PULSE)

Aggressive oversight and new improvement efforts have cut the number of improper fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare claims payments by half in one year, from 10.1% in 2004 to 5.2% in 2005, a $9.5 billion reduction in improper payments. The Medicare FFS error rate has declined from 14.2% in 1996, when the Medicare improper payment rate was first reported, to the current 5.2%. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) pays more than 1 billion fee-for-service claims each year, and provides oversight to state payments for services provided by health care professionals under Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In 2005, Medicare also made …