A Senate subcommittee heard about a new report today that says some recipients of Medicare Part D are using the plan to buy large quantities of frequently-abused drugs like Oxycontin to use or sell.
A Government Accountability Office investigation found that at least 170,000 Medicare drug beneficiaries acquired the same drugs from five or more doctors during 2008, at a cost of about $148 million to the program. A GAO auditor testified about their findings.
Also at the hearing was the Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the head of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association.