New State Auditor Shad White has hit the ground running.
White’s office, in collaboration with the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, has identified and begun to recover over $615,000 in improper payments made to Managed Care Organizations by Medicaid.
Each month, Medicaid makes payments to Managed Care Organizations, the companies that ensure medical coverage is provided to more than 70% of Medicaid beneficiaries. After review, OSA and Medicaid jointly determined that improper payments had been made to Managed Care Organizations and should be recovered.
A disallowed payment is one which is not permitted under Medicaid program rules. Examples from this project include payments made on behalf of deceased individuals or those admitted into long-term care facilities.
Medicaid has begun the process of recovering these funds from the insurance companies and ensuring that agency protocol prevents these improper payments from being processed in the future.
“We used new ‘big data’ techniques to identify these funds that were spent in error. Creating efficient government is a priority, and I am excited about the relationship my office has formed to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent appropriately,” White said.
OSA and Medicaid have collaborated throughout this project by coupling technical expertise with shared data to improve accountability to taxpayers. Both OSA and Medicaid will continue this collaboration to ensure public funds are spent appropriately.
“I believe being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars is one of the highest duties of any state agency,” said Medicaid Executive Director Drew Snyder. “I appreciate the good work that the State Auditor’s Office and the team at Medicaid have done and continue to do in identifying and preventing payment errors.”
