Eliminating Waste, Fraud, & Abuse in Ohio

Posted by Marc Kilmer in Health Care, Medicaid, Ohio on Dec 23rd, 2008 | no responses

Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor reviewed the state's Medicaid program and found that the state could take some simple steps to save nearly $303 million.

She recommends, among other things:

Reducing application and administrative duplication by allowing the Rehabilitation Services Commission to determine disability determinations. Savings: $2 million
Implementing a program that would give employers the ability to use Medicaid funds to purchase employer sponsored group health insurance on behalf of Medicaid eligible individuals. Savings: $10 million
Requiring Medicaid providers to reenroll at least once every three years to eliminate fraud associated with inactive providers.
Require the participation in national program to share data and information with other states to prevent welfare fraud. Savings: $7.3 million
Closing loopholes associated with the Medicaid Estate Recovery program.

With the state facing a record budget deficit, you'd think the steps recommended by Auditor Taylor would be uncontroversial. The state's Medicaid director disagrees with the auditor's findings.

It will be interesting to see how the governor and state legislators deal with Medicaid during the 2009 legislative session. It's the largest item in the state budget and it's difficult to see how the state could solve its budget problems without addressing Medicaid spending.