WASHINGTON — The federal government’s improper payments totaled about $125 billion in fiscal 2010 as unemployment insurance and Medicaid payments increased, officials said. But agencies also recovered about $687 million mistakenly paid to delinquent government contractors and beneficiaries.
The government’s total “improper-payment amount climbed $15 billion from the previous year, according to statistics from the Office of Management and Budget. The payments included about 89,000 checks for $250 each sent to dead or incarcerated people as part of the economic stimulus program.
The overall payment error rate dropped to 5.49 percent in fiscal 2010 from 5.65 percent the previous year. The drop means the government avoided making about $3.8 billion in improper payments.
