The Obama administration is tired of seeing billions of dollars wasted on improper Medicare payments. An internal document sent in February by Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell displays the desire by administration officials to crack down on unwarranted payments. The letter was obtained by the Center for Public Integrity through a Freedom of Information request.

“While some progress has been made on this front, we believe a more aggressive strategy can be implemented to reduce the levels of improper payments we are currently seeing,” Donovan wrote.

The federal Government Accountability Office estimated that 13 percent of all payments made for traditional Medicare last year were improper. That means a whopping $45 billion was spent that shouldn't have been.