The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services allowed physicians barred from prescribing under Medicare Part D to order more than $15 million in drugs from 2006 to 2008, an investigation by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has found.

In addition to allowing the prohibited physicians to prescribe, CMS approved nearly an additional $2 million for prescriptions that may have come from excluded doctors, said the report, released Dec. 23.