Medicare programs owe billions in taxes

WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- More than 27,000 healthcare providers collected Medicare fees in 2006 while owing the government back taxes, U.S. regulators said.

The Government Accountability Office said more than $2 billion in back taxes are owed by healthcare providers, who still collect Medicare fees, The Washington Post reported.

In one case, a nursing home operator owing $7 million in taxes collected $15 million in Medicare fees. In another, a hospital owing $15 million collected $21 million in fees, the Post reported.

A study, which did not name specific healthcare providers, was conducted at the request of Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Government Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations and committee member Norm Coleman, R-Minn., the Post reported.

"Medicare is a healthcare program that is designed to serve our nation's seniors, yet this investigation reveals that ... some healthcare providers are subverting the tax system to line their pockets," Coleman said in a statement.

"It ought to be obvious that folks who make their living off taxpayer dollars have a special obligation to pay their taxes," Levin said.