About Pondera Solutions
In 2011, 41% of Americans were enrolled in one or more government assistance programs. The cost of these programs totaled $2.4 trillion and represented 8.4% of our GDP. Spending on these programs has increased faster than any other category of government outlays, increasing 300% in the past 25 years.
To help administer these programs, government organizations spend approximately $50 billion annually on Information Technology (IT). This represents approximately 40% of Government’s overall IT spending and the dollars are used for projects such as Medicaid claims processing systems, Unemployment Insurance call centers, and State Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS).
To date, the vast majority of IT funds have been spent on improving transaction processing, automating eligibility rules, web enabling services, and other program delivery enhancements. Very little has been spent on ensuring the integrity of the payments. The result is that most large programs ‘improperly’ distribute up to 20% of their funds. This represents over $200 billion annually in funds distributed to “bad actors” who are not entitled to them.
In response to this problem, the governments are implementing Program Integrity Units. These units are tasked with identifying improper payments and fraud, collecting these improper payments and implementing preventive measures.
