The federal government overpaid social workers and recipients of social services by $186 billion in fiscal year 2025, a dramatic increase of $24 billion compared to last year’s total.
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 15 federal agencies made large improper payments to more than 64 programs, with approximately 82% of the overpayments being the result of overpayments.
And these are mistakes the government has caught — usually not outright fraud, like the billions alleged in Minnesota.
The GAO analysis comes as an anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance seeks to pressure states, including New York, to eliminate sources of fraud or risk losing federal funding.
Medicare is responsible for the largest share of overpayments, according to the GAO analysis, up to $57 billion.
Medicare – the second largest government program after Social Security – has a budget of approximately $1.1 trillion.
Medicaid mistakes cost $37 billion, while the government gave away $21 billion in Earned Income Tax Credit to people who didn’t qualify.
Recipients of the National Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — food stamps — received $10 billion more than they should have.
The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, a pandemic-era program that provided billions in emergency COVID-19 relief to certain live venues, museums and theaters also received $10 billion more.
The remaining 59 programs combined generated $51 billion in improper payments.
The issue has long been contentious with the federal government, with the GAO putting the total overpayments since 2003 at $3 billion — though the agency says the real number could be much higher.
This number includes a dramatic increase during the pandemic years of 2020-2023, when new programs were developed quickly and existing programs were quickly expanded, leading to a greater risk of fraud and improper payments, Kristen Kociolek, executive director of the GAO’s Financial Management and Assurance team told the Washington Times.
The $186 billion figure leaves out certain programs the agency has determined may be susceptible to “unreasonably large payments,” the GAO wrote, including the Department of Health and Human Services’ Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which spent about $16.5 billion in FY2025.
The organization notes that it has made many recommendations to Congress and federal agencies in an effort to close the gap, including in March 2022 during the Biden administration when the GAO submitted ten issues that would improve the accountability of federal spending.
As of April 2026, however, action has been taken on one of their proposals.
