Virginia paid insurers to cover Medicaid services for patients who had already died, a nearly $22 million mistake over three years that the state is working to recover and repay.
A recent federal audit found that the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, the state’s Medicaid office, accidentally paid out capitation payments – or monthly fixed payments for each enrollee – to Medicaid managed care organizations on behalf of dead patients from 2019 through 2021, ABC affiliate WRIC reports.
The audit from the U.S. Health and Human Services’ inspector general’s office estimated that the payments totaled at least $21.8 million on behalf of just over 12,000 enrollees.
“Virginia made unallowable capitation payments on behalf of deceased enrollees because it did not have adequate controls in place to enable it to identify all deceased enrollees and properly cancel their enrollment,” the audit states. Read more.
