Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Audit: Va. Medicaid Program Marked By Waste, Inefficiencies
People claiming to have no income have been able to get Medicaid in Virginia 鈥 no questions asked, according to a new audit, which also found the state wasted at least $21 million last year on benefits for recipients who no longer qualified. The audit, released Monday and conducted by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, also faulted Virginia鈥檚 鈥減assive鈥 approach to recovering money owed from the estates of certain deceased Medicaid patients. (Vozzella, 11/9)
Virginia officials don鈥檛 verify that applicants are telling the truth when they say that they have no earned income, according to the report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, which is in the midst of a two-year review of the state鈥檚 Medicaid program. (Durkin, 11/9)
Virginia鈥檚 Medicaid program has a backlog of applications for eligibility that has cost the state and federal governments up to $38 million in benefits to ineligible recipients, according to a new report that identifies gaps in the $8 billion system. (Martz, 11/9)