Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Finds Hundreds Attempting ‘Asset Divestiture’

Iowa's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has 500 pending cases, most of which involve improper "asset divestiture" by elderly parents, the AP/Omaha World Herald reports. According to the AP/World-Herald, adult children often take over items such as "savings accounts, cars or real estate" in order to qualify their parents for Medicaid, which covers services such as nursing home care or prescription drugs not covered by Medicare. So far, the unit has identified $921,484 in Medicaid overpayments to patients who were not technically eligible for services, with approximately $348,000 being recovered. The state has established a hotline so citizens may report suspected Medicaid fraud, according to Thomas Bowe, the administrator of the Investigations Division of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. "We get a lot of tips from the community -- and most of them pan out," Bowe said. However, Bowe added that often by the time the fraud is identified, the assets have been spent, allowing for only partial recovery of state overpayments (AP/Omaha World-Herald, 9/5). For further information on state health policy in Iowa, visit State Health Facts Online.