State lawmakers aren’t happy with an interim report tallying $4.1 million in potential Medicaid fraud or waste.
Those on the Joint Finance Committee, which ordered the report last year, called it "superficial".
The contractor, Health Integrity, only looked at a small portion of state Medicaid clients over the past three years. It also didn’t complete a comprehensive review of potential scenarios due to time constraints.
You can read the full report from Health Integrity here.
Sen. Brian Bushweller (D-Dover) called the early report a “bust”, but says he’s hoping for more substance in the final document.
“There wasn’t much meat on the bone. It wasn’t very deep, it wasn’t very broad and we’re hoping that the final thing will be much more useful,” Bushweller said.
State Department of Health and Social Services officials awarded the contract to Health Integrity in March – nearly six months after a deadline set by JFC. Originally, a full report would have been due in April to help shore up looming budget gaps.
"There seems to be some reason that this is being dragged out," said Sen. Dave Lawson (R-Marydel), saying that he thinks DHSS delayed securing a contractor because they'd be embarrassed of how much money was being wasted on fraud.
The company will get $250,000 for their work following the final report and could earn up to another $250,000 should the state see any tangible savings.
Some suggested investing in another pilot program with stricter rules governing the bid process.
"This is a marathon. You can't just fall after the sprint," Rep. Melanie George Smith (D-Bear) said.
Any further discussion will wait until June, as JFC recessed to wait on final state revenue projections.
A final report from Health Integrity is due in September.
"I'm not filled with any confidence at all that this exercise will produce anything worthwhile," said Bushweller. "I hope I'm wrong."
