Most Medicare providers, including some being investigated for fraud, got a slice of the $30 billion in COVID-19 stimulus money that the federal government rushed out to prop up the healthcare system.
The disclosure of the payments came from defense attorneys and others representing more than a dozen firms facing criminal or civil fraud inquiries, Reuters reported.
“I have an enormous amount of frustration with the way the Trump administration is distributing these dollars, and examples like these magnify the consequences of the White House’s efforts to limit transparency and stonewall oversight,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, told the news outlet.
The Department of Health and Human Services distributed cash to 315,000 claims from provider billing organizations, the agency said.
“While we cannot comment specifically on any work other than what has been publicly announced, I can tell you that we regularly perform reviews of the department’s administration of programs, including the distribution of funding,” a spokesperson said.
