WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann has called for a federal audit of Minnesota’s Medicaid management program.
Bachmann sent a letter to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Studies on Thursday asking for an independent third-party audit of Minnesota’s Medicaid billing practices in light of a congressional investigation into years worth of alleged overpayments to the state's managed care organizations.
A congressional panel grilled Minnesota officials over the state's management of federal Medicaid funds in April, spurred on by a dispute between the state and federal government over a $30 million reimbursement from one of the state's HMOs, UCare. Minnesota officials have said the dispute was a misunderstanding, but federal lawmakers charged it was indicative of long-term mismanagement of Medicaid funds by the state government.
Bachmann has introduced a bill requiring independent audits of every state’s Medicaid practices, which are especially important, she says, given the expansion of Medicaid set to take effect under President Obama’s health care reform law. Republicans have said the federal government has failed to properly track Medicaid spending by the states.
“We can’t allow taxpayer dollars to flow without proper record keeping ever again,” Bachmann said Thursday.
Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry