Ohio owes $29.5 million for improper Medicaid bonuses, feds claim

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General says Ohio owes the federal government $29.5 million for improper bonus payments rewarding the state’s effort to sign up children for Medicaid (Source: “Feds say Ohio owes $29.5M for improper Medicaid bonuses,” Columbus Dispatch, Nov. 7, 2017).

Ohio received $64.5 million in bonus payments from 2010-13, but federal officials say the state overstated its enrollment by including children that did not qualify. The state, according to the inspector general’s report, incorrectly included blind and disabled children in its count.

That, investigators said, caused Ohio to overstate its Medicaid enrollment by between 33,000 and 41,000 per year during that four-year period. That led to unallowable bonus payments of $4.7 million to $10.8 million per year.

The state of Kansas was hit with a similar audit, finding that it owes $17.8 million. The Ohio Department of Medicaid is disputing the findings.