Indian unit’s losses near $16 million

The Indian Health Service lost at least $15.8 million worth of equipment between 2004 and 2007 and later falsified documents to cover up some of those losses, the Government Accountability Office reported.

The 5,000 pieces of lost or stolen equipment included a computer that contained more than 800 Social Security numbers and sensitive health information. Also missing are trucks, tractors, all-terrain vehicles and about a third of information technology items -- including computers, video projectors and digital cameras -- from the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md.

The GAO blamed mismanagement at the top of the embattled agency, which often runs out of money to provide adequate healthcare to the American Indians it serves.