Tag: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Analysis: Audits show problems have plagued Md. Developmental Disabilities Admin. for years
Developmental Disabilities Administration failed to collect millions, overpaid contractors, didn’t reconcile costs, made questionable vehicle purchases, and adjusted accounting records without explanation. The problems are so bad and so persistent that an outside turnaround consultant has been hired to help fix them.
Read MoreMd. officials count undocumented immigrants as uninsured for health care, but none qualify for Obamacare
State officials have been talking a lot about the high number of uninsured Marylanders who will have access to Obamacare, but not all are eligible to sign up.
Of the state’s estimated 750,000 to 800,000 uninsured residents, only 480,500 — or roughly 60% — are eligible to enroll for health insurance plans under President Obama’s signature health care law, according to the federal health care website HealthCare.gov.
Analysis: Federal audit questions state spending on several programs
An outside audit of how the state of Maryland spent almost $13 billion it got from the U.S. government found significant problems in some of the programs the state runs with federal dollars. These include eligibility problems with recipients of Medicaid and welfare.
Read MoreMaryland has collected $12 million in Medicaid fraud since July 1
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office has collected $12 million dollars from perpetrators of Medicaid fraud so far this fiscal year, more than six times the amount recovered in all of fiscal 2012.
Read MoreBad day for bureaucrats seeking money from Board of Public Works
It was a bad day for bureaucrats at the Board of Public Works Wednesday – at least for several state officials who had to defend their spending plans to the three-member board that must approve all major state contracts.
In the end, most of the state agencies got the money they came for, but not before some uncomfortable questions and critical remarks came their way about slow payments and outsourcing loan-making and faculty hiring.
Read MoreState gets $28.3 million bonus for children’s Medicaid enrollment
Maryland will receive a $28 million performance bonus from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for fiscal year 2011 for its consistent efforts to identify and enroll eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP coverage.
Read MoreAudit finds Medicaid funds paid to dead people out-of-state
The state could save millions of dollars by comparing the list of people receiving Medicaid with the Social Security Administration’s Master Death File, according to a report from the Office of Legislative Audits.
Read MoreHealth department failed to control birth certificates, auditors find, citing possible fraud
The state health department has continued to fail to control issuance of birth certificates, leading to potential fraud, auditors found — a ongoing problem they had identified a dozen years ago.
Read MoreHouse committee hears proposal to double fees for birth, death certificates
Legislative budget analysts are recommending the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene double the price of birth and death certificates from $12 to $24 a piece as a way to raise $7.9 million for fiscal 2012.
Maryland currently charges $12 for each copy of a vital record, including birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates. In 2003, the last time the Department of Legislative Services analyzed vital record fees, Maryland ranked among the lowest and have remained comparatively low, according to the budget report that analyst Simon Powell presented to the Health and Human Resources Appropriations subcommittee.
Read MoreAgency improperly refunded money, lacked oversight, audit says
The Infectious Disease and Environmental Health Administration didn’t have adequate procedures to verify that claims paid by its drug assistance program for AIDS were legitimately filled, nor did it monitor inspectors at some of its food and milk processing plants, according to an audit released Monday.
Auditors found that the agency didn’t have good enough oversight system in place for monitoring the pharmacies it gave $29 million in fiscal 2009. “People were paid, but not authorized,” Legislative Auditor Bruce Myers said.
Read MoreMassage therapists object to proposed regs that will add training and costs
“There is widespread opposition to the changes within the massage therapy community,” said Cher Hunter, a licensed massage therapist and member of the board of the Maryland Chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association. The group is spearheading a letter-writing campaign to get the department to reject the changes.
Hunter contended that the proposed changes would limit the options for continuing education. “The Maryland changes are much stricter than most states’ requirements,” Hunter said. But regulators say the regulations are consistent with a 2008 law
Read MoreMedical benefits administration needs better controls to protect against fraud, audit finds
Widespread lack of accountability may have led to millions of dollars wasted by the Medical Care Programs Administration of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, an audit released Monday found.
The medical administration spent $6.8 billion to provide low-income residents with health care benefits like Medicaid in the last fiscal year. The General Assembly’s Joint Audit Committee will review the audit this afternoon (Tuesday).
Read More
Recent Comments