Audit raises concerns over Medicaid spending in Massachusetts
State auditor, A.Joseph DeNucci has raised concerns over Medicaid spending after an audit found that millions of dollars are being wasted every year.
The audit found that many claims are being inflated and raised concerns about the possibility of fraudulent claims being made in the state; the audit also found that many claims were unnecessary.
The audit, which was conducted on a sample of dental providers, found that 5.7 million dollars were wasted over a four year period.
According to DeNucci, the report highlights serious problems in the Medicaid programme; DeNucci said that MassHealth, the company which administers the Medicaid programme, could be paying out millions of dollars for unnecessary, fraudulent and illegitimate claims. DeNucci also added that the report reveals a worrying trend, which involves the system being abused to maximise profits for providers; this in turn, affects the people who need care, reduces the quality of services and wastes taxpayers’ money. In particular, the audit showed that a huge number of dental X-rays were carried out as a routine procedure, rather than for specific reasons, which cost MassHealth over 5 million dollars.
A spokeswoman from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said the department was committed to regulating costs and had already introduced a number of initiatives to control costs; however, she also added that the office agreed with many concerns raised by DeNucci’s report. As a result, the department is introducing new methods to control costs and regulate billing.
According to the auditor’s office, payments to dental providers have increased from 116 million dollars to more than 300 million dollars.
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