US government overpaid welfare and Medicare recipients by $186 billion last year — after a shocking surge

Source: New York Post

The federal government overpaid welfare and social services recipients by a stunning $186 billion in fiscal year 2025, a startling surge of $24 billion from the previous year’s total. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 15 federal agencies made up the massive improper payments overage spanning 64 programs, with approximately 82% of the overages the result of overpayments. And these are just the mistakes that the government caught — usually not outright fraud, like the billions alleged in Minnesota.