The head of Iowa’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit says his team’s investigations led to 37 fraud convictions during the previous fiscal year and the recovery of $3.9 million.
Jeremy Ingrim says nine people work in the unit and refer cases to county and federal attorneys. “Collaborating with these prosecuting agencies is a force multiplier that significantly enhances the unit’s productivity and efficiency by achieving successful case resolutions with limited staff, without requiring additional resources within the unit to prosecute these cases,” Ingrim said.
Ingrim testified yesterday at a meeting of the task force Governor Reynolds established to come up with recommendations for addressing Medicaid fraud. Imgrim said while the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is smaller than most other states, it had the 10th highest number of convictions last year. Two former state agency officials who worked for Democratic governors say hiring additional staff would be the best way to combat Medicaid fraud since for $1 spent on the unit, between $4 and $5 of improper Medicaid payments are recovered.
The current governor’s task force on Medicaid fraud will issue its final report next month.
(By Isabella Luu, Iowa Public Radio/O. Kay Henderson, Radio Iowa)