N.Y. Medicaid audit finds $42M in improper payments; Minn. commissioner to testify before congressional committee

Auditors in New York have found $42 million in improper payments were doled out to Medicaid providers. In the meantime, Minnesota's human services commissioner will testify before a congressional committee next week about financing and a payment made to the state by a managed care plan with Medicaid contract.

The Associated Press/Wall Street Journal: NY Audits Fault $42 Million In Medicaid Payments
State auditors say data problems and information delays at New York's Medicaid claims processing system have caused $36 million in improper payments and another $6.3 million in overpayments. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said Wednesday that $3.2 million has been recouped and the health department says it has changed practices (4/19).

Minnesota Public Radio: Human Services Commissioner To Testify Before Congress On Medicaid
State Sen. Sean Nienow, R-Cambridge, said the hearing called by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., focuses on oversight of state and federal Medicaid dollars. ... Nienow said he expects a $30 million donation the state received last year from the managed care plan, UCare, will be discussed during the hearing (Dunbar, 4/18). 

(St. Paul) Pioneer Press: Minnesota Commissioner To Testify Before U.S. House Hearing Over HMO Payment
Questions about the financing of Minnesota's Medicaid health insurance program will be a key part of an upcoming congressional hearing, a state senator announced Wednesday, April 18, during a news conference at the Capitol. A subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold the hearing April 25 to consider whether the government is adequately protecting taxpayers from fraud, said Sen. Sean Nienow, a Republican from Cambridge. Lucinda Jesson, the state's commissioner for human services, is scheduled to testify (Snowbeck, 4/18).

In Iowa, a budget bill includes $950 million for Medicaid, the most for any line item --

Des Moines Register: Iowa House Passes $1.6 Billion Budget For Health Care And Social Services
The Iowa Legislature inched closer to resolving next year's budget on Wednesday, with House passage of a bill funding state health care programs and social services.. .. The bulk of the bill's outlays -- more than $950 million -- go to Medicaid, the health-care program for the poor, but the departments of public health, veterans affairs and aging, welfare programs and the Iowa Veterans Home are funded in it as well. The budget is for the fiscal year that begins July 1 (Noble, 4/19).

And a Michigan health plan acquires a Medicaid HMO --

Modern Healthcare: McLaren Health Acquires Medicaid HMO
McLaren Health Plan, a Flint, Mich.-based HMO that counts 150,000 total beneficiaries, has acquired CareSource Michigan, a 34,500-member Medicaid HMO. CareSource's parent is based in Dayton, Ohio, and the deal won't have any impact on CareSource Ohio members, according to a news release. Michigan officials must approve the purchase, and the process could take 90 days (Selvam, 4/18).