HHS finds up to $600m improper payments for autism services, errors on every bill checked in four states

It’s not just Minnesota where people have bilked Medicaid for millions.Federal auditors found $198 million “improper payments” for Medicaid-funded autism services in four states, and another $410 million may have been incorrectly billed. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) put Medicaid spending for autism care in Indiana, Wisconsin, Maine and Colorado under the microscope, examining 100 monthly bills in each state over a year.They found potential payment errors in every single one.According to the audits, Indiana made at least $56 million in improper payouts, Wisconsin $18.5 million, Maine $45.6 million and Colorado a whopping $77.8 million.Payments should not have been made due to reasons like caregivers failed to properly document therapy sessions, lacked the appropriate credentials to provide treatment or patients had not been properly diagnosed with autism. In addition, in each case the audits flagged separate “potentially improper payments” in each state, which was a much higher number: up to $77 million in Indiana, $22 million in Maine, $94 million in Wisconsin and $207 million in Colorado.These payments were flagged as carers billing for potential non-therapy time and during recreational activities and not keeping proper notes of the care.“There’s a big myth that needs to be busted, is the idea that states and the federal government equally share the goal of reducing improper spending,” Chris Medrano, an analyst at the free-market health care researchgroup Paragon Health, told The Post.He also claimed “a lot” of states use “funding gimmicks” to redirect boatloads of Medicaid money into their general funds, suggesting they may be incentivized to keep the gravy train flowing and turn a blind eye to overbilling.Although no companies have been prosecuted for fraud related to the HHS audits at this time, the federal government has requested the return of millions of dollars in improper payments from each of the states.More ...