The worst overcharging hospital was Bayonne Medical Center in New Jersey, which charged the highest amounts for almost one-quarter of the treatments. Bayonne Medical typically charged $99,689 for treating a case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 5.5 times more than other hospitals and 17.5 times more than Medicare paid in reimbursement.   read more

The state paid more than $5 million to defend education requirements for students who are not proficient in English, according to The Arizona Republic. In the case of SB 1070, the controversial anti-illegal immigration law, more than $3.2 million has gone towards defending it. This money was raised by Governor Jan Brewer through private contributions to her Border Security and Immigration Legal Defense Fund.   read more

The Army’s move to implement the change prompted KBR to sue in court, where its lawyers argued that the remaining duties will cost $500 million and take 13 years to complete.   read more

It has already begun in Birmingham, where several hedge funds—including Monarch Alternative Capital, which was a major player in the Hostess bankruptcy and Stone Lion Capital, which was involved in the bankruptcy of Eastman Kodak—have bought more than $600 million of Jefferson County debt. Under pressure after filing the most expensive municipal bankruptcy ever in the US in November 2011, Jefferson County has since cut expenses and laid off more than 700 county workers.   read more

First, Rust Consulting, which has 50 contracts with the federal government, sent out checks to homeowners that bounced. Now, the firm has come under fire for cutting checks with the wrong amounts. At least 100,000 checks were issued for amounts less than what homeowners were owed, potentially cheating them out of millions of dollars.   read more

Most of the monetary benefits and costs generated last year came from just two rules, according to OMB. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation limiting the amount of air pollution produced by coal-fired power plants resulted in reductions of childhood asthma, premature deaths from breathing polluted air, and the amount of mercury found in fish. generated fuel savings, promoted energy security, and provided other economic benefits.   read more

Some of those problems can be found with a careful study of the fine print in the PPP contracts, claims Penn State University law professor Ellen Dannin. In her 2011 report on the subject, she disclosed that little-known “adverse action” clauses make the public the guarantor of private contractors’ expected revenues. Dannin believes that this ensures profit for the investors and compromises the integrity of the transportation network as a whole.   read more

Journalists and others have asked for this information, primarily to help address nutritional and health problems of low-income people. However, they have been told by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it does not have the authority to collect the data. The bill would grant such power, and require the agency to post the information on a publicly searchable database.   read more

Apple’s tax savings occurred when it borrowed money to finance a $55 billion stock buyback instead of spending some of the $100 billion it has off-shored in foreign accounts, which would have had to be repatriated and opened the way for the Internal Revenue Service to send Apple a $9.2 billion tax bill.   read more

\Meals on Wheels (MOW) saves money by helping clients live at home instead of in more expensive nursing homes. As MOW clients tend to be poor, their nursing home bills are paid by Medicaid, at an average annual cost of $57,878. When seniors receive home care, in contrast, the cost to Medicaid is about $15,371 per year, or $42,507 less than nursing home care.   read more

During 2011 and 2012, 25 billion-dollar floods, storms, droughts, heat waves and wildfires were unleashed in the U.S., killing 1,107 individuals and causing $188 billion in economic damages. Superstorm Sandy alone killed 72 and wreaked nearly $50 billion in destruction. The federal government pitched in more than $60 billion in disaster relief and recovery funds.   read more

Elite Sterling Security, based in Denver, has sold more than 300 backpacks in the last two months at $295.95 each. At least 2,000 families have inquired about them so far. The company also provides ballistic safety vests for $1,040.95. The company’s website gushes: “It's an insulated vest! It's the latest in ballistic protection for kids!”   read more

In terms of dollars, the average white family had about $632,000 in wealth. Their black counterparts had only $98,000 and Hispanics $110,000. Between 2007 and 2010, Hispanic families lost 44% of their total wealth and African-American families lost 31%. Meanwhile, the total wealth of white families dropped by only 9%. The retirement funds of African-American families lost 35% of value between 2007 and 2010, while the funds held by white families gained in value by 9%.   read more

Most of these empty accounts were originally created to distribute grants from the Department of Health and Human Services. Once the full amount of the grant has been distributed, the account that serviced it is supposed to be closed. But because of required audits and the general snail’s pace of government bureaucracy, the empty accounts often remain open long after their purpose has been fulfilled.   read more

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which audits the IRS, found the agency overpaid between $11.6 billion and $13.6 billion in Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC). EITC is primarily used to give low- and moderate- income workers credit for their children. If the credit exceeds the amount of money they owe, they receive a refund. The report stated that “the annual EITC improper payment amount has consistently been one of the largest of all Federal programs.”   read more

You would think that when the U.S. government determines how much money should be spent to protect various cities and metropolitan areas, it would take into account not just the size of the city, but also its history as a target. The attacks of September 11, 2001, were centered on New York City and Washington DC, and the terrorists boarded flights from Boston, Washington and Newark. Three of the flights were headed to Los Angeles and one to San Francisco. But Boston is only in tenth place.   read more