Watching Coburn talking about how we need to look at healthcare fraud instead of any other reform, he is exaggerating what actually has happened.
After speaking to health care experts and searching on the Internet, we found that while Medicare fraud is a notable concern, statistics offered to document the scale of the problem are slippery at best. On May 6, 2009, Daniel Levinson, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging that "it is not possible to measure precisely the extent of fraud in Medicare and Medicaid."
As a result, estimates of fraud in the system vary — widely.
The number Levinson offered lawmakers is one from the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association. Levinson said that the NHCAA — whose members include private insurance companies and government agencies — estimated that "at least 3 percent — or more than $60 billion each year — is lost to fraud." But as Levinson was careful to note, the $60 billion figure covers fraud in all U.S. health care expenditures — not just in Medicare,
which would mean that Coburn is way off in his estimate.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/27/tom-coburn/coburn-says-20-percent-every-medicare-dollar-goes-/It was funny how Reid mentioned that Coburn was filibustering, which he was.
Obama made it clear that the fraud issue IS in the legislation.