AZ AG Joins 36 Others In Calling For Expanded Medicaid Authority

Although his office has turned a blind eye to alleged Medicaid fraud by politically connected people, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich agreed to join 36 other state attorneys general and the District of Columbia in signing a bi-partisan letter calling for expanded medicaid fraud authority.

The letter was sent to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs) investigate and prosecute state Medicaid provider fraud and resident abuse complaints in Medicaid-funded health care facilities. In most states, MFCUs operate in the state attorney general’s office. The Social Security Act expressly allows use of MFCUs to investigate and prosecute patient abuse/neglect in “health care facilities” or “board and care facilities,” but the statute does not prohibit use of federal MFCU funds to investigate abuse/neglect in non-institutional settings. This regulatory restriction arbitrarily limits the scope of potential abuse or neglect cases MFCUs can investigate or prosecute. More than 6.4 million people enrolled in the Medicaid program are age 65 or older.

The letter offers two recommendations:

  • Allow MFCU federals funds to be used to investigate and prosecute abuse and neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries in non-institutional settings (i.e. home health care).
  • Allow use of MFCU federal funds to freely screen or review any and all complaints or reports of whatever type, in whatever setting.
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