US federal fraud losses estimated at up to $521 billion annually

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that the United States federal government lost between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud between fiscal years 2018 and 2022. This loss affects various federal programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and pandemic relief.

In fiscal year 2025, improper payments for Medicare, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) alone exceeded $100 billion. This issue has specific implications for state budgets; for example, Louisiana reported a SNAP payment error rate of over 8% in fiscal year 2025.

Under provisions of the 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill” legislation, states with SNAP error rates exceeding 6% will be required to cover 5% to 15% of their total SNAP payments. Consequently, Louisiana is projected to face costs of approximately $100 million starting in October 2026 if its error rate remains above the threshold.