Webinar | March 2013
State Efforts to Enhance Medicaid Program Integrity
The scope of Medicaid has broadened
dramatically in recent years, a trend attributed to the expansion of
eligibility guidelines, growth of the eligible population, increased
utilization and a marked increase in the services covered. This
expansion brings with it an increase in costs along with challenges
related to service delivery and, correspondingly, the potential for
fraud and abuse. Not only does the misuse of Medicaid funds result in
the depletion of scarce resources, but it also prevents the direction
of these resources to deliver high priority health care services to
eligible Medicaid recipients. As states grapple with meeting these
increasingly complex challenges, policymakers are devoting a great deal
of time and resources to ensure that the misuse of scarce Medicaid
resources is kept to a minimum. States are implementing a range of
actions to ensure the most effective and efficient policies and tools
are in place with regard to their Medicaid programs.
This webinar provided information on some of the specific strategies
states are adopting or pursuing to improve the integrity of their
Medicaid program at every level. Presenters will include officials with
the State Health Care Spending Project of the Pew Center on the States,
which recently created an online database containing hundreds of
promising practices by state and federal Medicaid agencies. This online
database, drawing on reports from the federal Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services, contains an effective tool to help
policymakers learn more about anti-fraud and abuse strategies used in
specific states or at different stages the interactions of providers
and patients with Medicaid. Policymakers from several states addressed
the issue of specific measures enacted to enhance Medicaid program
integrity in their states.
Presenters
- Matt McKillop, Senior Associate, State Health Care Spending Project, Pew Center on the States
- Robert M. Finlayson III, Inspector General, Georgia Department of Community Health
Presentations
State Efforts to Enhance Medicaid Program Integrity