Over more than a year, investigators said, they found 1.6 million improper claims.

The subpoenas say the Government is investigating the "submission of false or improper claims to, and their payment by, the Medicare and Medicaid programs."

The total number of improper claims in Ontario was estimated at 600,000.

The improper claim remains as a spur to terrorists, proxy bombers for those who see the claim as a' constitutional imperative'.

Johnson & Johnson said it had made no improper claims for Retin-A.

Even assuming that to be so, however, his recourse for the filing of an improper claim against him was to move for the imposition of sanctions against plaintiff.

Also disturbing to Blue Shield is that it still misses many such improper or outright fraudulent claims.

The I.R.S. is seeking to weed out improper claims for the credit.

These typically involve suspicions of refund fraud, inappropriate filing status or improper claims for dependents.

The company said that it had disseminated balanced, medically accurate information and had made no improper claims about the drugs' effectiveness.