WASHINGTON (AP) — A staggering $207.5 million was reported in improper Medicare payments made to health care providers on behalf of individuals who had already died, according to a recent report by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services. This analysis covers payments during the period from July 2021 to July 2022.
Aner Sanchez, deputy regional inspector general in the Office of Audit Services, highlights that this issue is not confined to one state and has been a persistent problem for over a decade. The report urges the federal government to enhance communication with state governments to recover erroneous payments, suggesting increased access to a Full Death Master File database, which contains over 142 million records dating back to 1899.
While sharing this database has faced privacy restrictions, recent legislative changes contained in the Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill mandate that states begin auditing their Medicaid beneficiary lists starting in 2027. This initiative aims to curtail such improper payments to deceased individuals.
The report serves as a nationwide assessment of improper Medicaid payments, revealing that since 2016, approximately $289 million in payments have been improperly made for deceased enrollees across various state programs. Earlier this year, a Treasury Department pilot program utilizing the Full Death Master File successfully reclaimed over $31 million in payments that had erroneously gone to deceased recipients.
The ongoing issues surrounding the accuracy of the Full Death Master File are further complicated by recent updates made by the Social Security Administration, which include integrating and removing various records, impacting the efficiency of audits.
