… on the other hand

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

We rely on the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to properly screen health care providers that serve the nation’s senior citizens through Medicare. This does not mean hospitals, nursing homes and other providers approved by the agency get a free pass when it comes to paying taxes. But a Government Accountability Office report obtained last week by the Associated Press disclosed that thousands of those providers owe the federal government more than $2 billion in back taxes.

There is an ironic twist. Almost half of that amount represents money withheld from employee paychecks that should have been paid to the government for Medicare and Social Security programs. That means those providers were benefiting from Medicare on one end through reimbursements and robbing it on the other end by failing to pay their fair share of taxes. Hard as it is to believe, the money instead went into personal accounts. Some of the money was squandered on fancy cars, boats, homes and gambling excursions.

Talk about being asleep at the wheel. One would hope that a screening process would include investigation of prospective providers’ business practices, their willingness to abide by the law and their ability to pay taxes. Instead, more than 27,000 providers owe enough back taxes to build a decent megaresort on the Strip. On top of that, some of the nursing home providers also had committed health and safety violations. The Justice Department, with an assist from the Internal Revenue Service, should go after these lawbreakers with full force.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should not be left off the hook either. The Government Accountability Office, which serves as the congressional auditor, justifiably criticized the agency for failing to fully participate in an IRS program to seize up to 15 percent of federal payments, including Medicare reimbursements, when providers owe back taxes.

Congress, using its oversight powers, would be well-advised to reexamine the agency to determine whether it is even equipped to do its job. Allowing that volume of taxes to go unpaid could be a sign that the agency lacks the leadership and resources to adequately manage the Medicare program.