According to a recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), more than $207 million in Medicaid funds were improperly disbursed to health care providers for individuals who had already passed away between July 2021 and July 2022. Aner Sanchez, deputy regional inspector general in the Office of Audit Services, noted that this issue is widespread and has persisted across multiple states for several years. The report suggests implementing a new mandate requiring states to conduct quarterly audits of their Medicaid beneficiary lists against the Full Death Master File, a comprehensive database of deceased individuals, in hopes of curtailing such erroneous payments. The recommendations also call for enhanced data sharing between federal and state entities to more effectively recover these payments. This report marks the first thorough evaluation of improper Medicaid payments at a national level and emphasizes the significant financial impact of such inaccuracies in the system. Since 2016, defined audits have uncovered similar irregularities totaling approximately $289 million across various states. Furthermore, the report indicates that recent initiatives utilizing the Full Death Master File have seen some success, recovering over $31 million through a pilot program aimed at identifying ineligible recipients of federal payments.
Medicaid Improper Payments Exceed $200 Million for Deceased Individuals
An independent report reveals over $200 million in Medicaid payments were improperly processed for deceased individuals, prompting calls for better audits and verification methods.
A recently released report by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General highlights that Medicaid programs made more than $200 million in improper payments to health care providers for deceased individuals between 2021 and 2022. The report suggests that new provisions in a major spending bill may help mitigate future errors by instituting regular audits against the Full Death Master File. These audits aim to improve the accuracy of Medicaid beneficiary lists and prevent ongoing payment mistakes.
