Waste includes misuse of resources such as the overuse of services which directly or indirectly results in unnecessary costs to the Medicare Program.

• A. N/A
• B. True
• C. False
• D. Not sure

Answer: (B)

Waste in Medicare means using resources in ways that don’t add value—like overusing services or performing unnecessary tests—so money is spent without improving patient outcomes. The statement is true because overuse directly or indirectly drives up costs for the Medicare Program, which is the essence of waste. For contrast, fraud involves intentional deception to gain payments, and abuse refers to improper billing or practices that aren’t necessarily fraudulent but still wasteful; these distinctions help explain why overuse fits squarely as waste.