PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – More than 1,000 dead Rhode Islanders received over $11 million in Medicaid benefits last year, according to a financial audit reviewed by the Target 12 investigators.
It’s one of the findings in the state’s 443-page annual audit by R.I. Auditor General Dennis Hoyle, covering the 2017-18 fiscal year.
According to the report, Hoyle’s office compared data from the state’s benefits eligibility system — known as UHIP – to independent death records, and discovered 10,881 people who had passed away remained Medicaid-eligible in the UHIP system.
The auditor’s review also showed $11.6 million in Medicaid payments for 1,063 deceased individuals. Of the $11.6 million erroneously paid, more than $5 million had not been recouped as of last June.
The money in question was what are known as “capitation payments,” where the state pays a flat amount, usually on a monthly basis, to a managed-care company which then covers all care for an individual on Medicaid (as opposed to having the state pay a separate fee for each medical service someone receives).
Source: State paid $11.6M in Medicaid benefits for deceased Rhode Islanders / WPRI