Latest Taxpayer Outrage: Dead people paid hundreds of millions in Medicaid and food stamps

 A recent report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) highlights significant issues in the Medicaid program regarding improper payments made to managed care organizations (MCOs) on behalf of deceased enrollees. Additionally, there are revelations of similar problems in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

1. Improper Medicaid Payments:

• The OIG found that states continued to make capitation payments for Medicaid beneficiaries who had already died. This has resulted in improper payments totaling an estimated $248.6 million, with about $171.8 million being the federal share.

• Problems persist even after prior audits and corrective actions, showing systemic issues in the Medicaid managed-care system.

2. Identifying Errors:

• A number of reasons contributed to these improper payments:

• Eleven states failed to efficiently manage and process death information for Medicaid recipients.

• Four states did not use systems that would automatically recognize deceased individuals, leading to manual data checks.

• Nine states did not update their systems with available death dates, continuing to pay deceased enrollees.

• Some states have not effectively utilized alternative data sources to identify deceased beneficiaries.

• Six states showed insufficient internal controls to catch these errors during routine checks.

3. OIG Recommendations:

• The report suggests that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should:

• Collect the estimated $41 million in unallowable payments still outstanding.

• Ensure that states implement necessary improvements to their internal controls and verification processes.

• Use data-matching tools specifically to cross-reference enrollment information with death records to identify at-risk states.

4. CMS Response:

• CMS reported that they have acted on approximately 83% of earlier audit recommendations. They noted that $126 million of the federal share had been refunded but did not agree with the recommendation to routinely match enrollment data with death records, citing concerns about redundancy and inefficiencies.

5. SNAP Program Issues:

• Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins criticized SNAP for allowing hundreds of thousands of improper payments, including benefits going to deceased individuals and duplicative payments to the same person.

• Rollins described SNAP as highly dysfunctional and corrupt, stating that many able-bodied individuals were receiving benefits despite not working.

• Changes to the SNAP program will require beneficiaries to reapply for assistance to address these challenges.

The findings from the OIG report reveal serious discrepancies in payment processes for both Medicaid and SNAP. State systems and internal controls need significant improvements to prevent payments to deceased individuals and ensure taxpayer funds are utilized appropriately. The CMS aims to strengthen oversight and manage improper payments more effectively while preparing to implement corrective actions for SNAP recipients. Future steps will focus on enforcing stricter compliance and enhancing data matching to safeguard against fraud. 

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/dead-people-have-been-paid-hundreds-millions-medicaid-and-snap-report