The US insurance program Medicaid paid out $36.7 billion in fraudulent claims in fiscal year 2017 and is taking steps to try and reduce such abuses in the future, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2018) The US insurance program Medicaid paid out $36.7 billion in fraudulent claims in fiscal year 2017 and is taking steps to try and reduce such abuses in the future, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said on Tuesday.
"[I]n fiscal year 2017 estimated improper payments were $36.7 billion," the report said. "Further, the Medicaid program accounted for about 26 percent of the fiscal year 2017 government-wide improper payment estimate."
Medicaid provides health coverage to eligible low-income adults and children, including people with disabilities.
The GAO said the diversity of the Medicaid program and its size makes it particularly challenging to oversee at the Federal level.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) therefore plans to resume audits of eligible beneficiaries and conduct new types of audits starting in three US states, the GAO noted.
"However, given the growth in Medicaid managed care, which was nearly half of Medicaid spending in fiscal year 2017, additional actions are needed to ensure that managed care payments are appropriate," the GAO said.
CMS's Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System initiative has the potential to improve program oversight, but more needs to be done to collect complete and comparable data from all states and to implement a fraud-risk strategy, the GAO added.
