Medicaid paid $12 million for deceased people in Illinois, documents show

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

The Illinois Medicaid program paid an estimated $12 million for medical services for people listed as deceased in other state records, according to an internal state government memo.

 

The memo dated Friday, which The Associated Press obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, says the state auditor compared clients enrolled in the Medicaid database last June with state death records dating back to 1970. Auditors identified overpayments for services to roughly 2,900 people after the date of their deaths.

 

The heads of the departments of Healthcare and Family Services and Human Services, the two state agencies involved with Medicaid payments, outline steps to fix the problem in the memo to their senior staffs.

 

The memo states that more than $7 million has been recovered and the rest is expected to be recouped by year's end.

 

Sen. Dale Righter, a Republican from Mattoon and the Senate GOP's point person on Medicaid reform, said the finding was further evidence that Democrats' arguments that they have done all they can to clean up the Medicaid rolls is "empty rhetoric."

 

"It's disappointing and somewhat enraging for taxpayers, but it's not surprising," Righter said. "I wish this administration would spend more time trying to solve the problems rather than trying to convince taxpayers that they've already solved them."

 

Gov. Pat Quinn's office didn't immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.

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Zombie care...