HHS Auditors: Florida Medicaid Paid $26M To Firms For Coverage Of People Who Were Dead
The state was able to recover much of the money, according to the report by the Department of Health and Human Services. Also, in Iowa, officials of the companies brought in to manage the Medicaid program declined to tell lawmakers if they will ask for more money following major losses.
Miami Herald:
Florida Paid Medicaid Insurers $26 Million To Cover Dead People, Report Says
The dead don’t need health insurance coverage. But in Florida, private health insurance companies managing the state’s Medicaid program still made money from the dead, according to a report issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Auditors with HHS’s Office of Inspector General estimate Florida paid about $26 million over five years to Medicaid insurers for coverage of people who had already died — largely as a result of outdated information in state databases and a lack of collaboration among different agencies. (Chang, 12/13)
Des Moines Register:
Medicaid Managers Won't Say If They'll Seek State Raises
Leaders of the private companies running Iowa’s Medicaid program declined to tell legislators Tuesday whether they plan to ask the state for more money next year. The three companies have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in Iowa since they started running the giant health-insurance program April 1, a recent report showed. During a legislative oversight meeting Tuesday, Sen. Joe Bolkcom noted that Gov. Terry Branstad agreed to give the companies an extra $33 million in state money in the middle of the first contract year. That money is to trigger more than $90 million in extra federal money to the companies. (Leys, 12/13)