MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Up to 30 percent of the money spent by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is wasted, said former agency chief Dr. Donald Berwick.
In an interview given on his last day at the helm, Berwick blamed the high level of waste partly on inefficiencies within the agency.
CMS pours money down the drain on overtreated patients, uncoordinated care, an administrative labyrinth, overbearing rules and fraud, he told the New York Times.
Berwick’s estimates amount to between $150 billion and $250 billion spent every year on "activities that don’t have any value," according to the paper.
Berwick vacated the top seat at CMS last week, and may be succeeded by his former second-in-command, Marilyn Tavenner.
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