We suggest the News Service try again, and while they’re at it, take a look at what the overpayments will eventually do to jeopardize the Medicare program itself. Overpayments raise overall costs at a time when there is serious concern about Medicare’s long-term finances. That means benefits might be drastically cut and more costs shifted to those now on Medicare, speeding up the drive to privatize the system. A good story, no?

Trudy Lieberman is a fellow at the Center for Advancing Health and a longtime contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review. She is the lead writer for The Second Opinion, CJR’s healthcare desk, which is part of our United States Project on the coverage of politics and policy. Follow her on Twitter @Trudy_Lieberman.