$11 Million of Waste, Fraud & Abuse in Delaware Medicaid Program

DOVER, Del. (AP) - A long-delayed pilot study of Delaware's Medicaid program has identified more than $11 million in possible waste, fraud and abuse.
 
Officials said in releasing the report Thursday that they are recovering clearly erroneous payments and collecting more information on claims needing further review.
 
The report analyzed some $226 million in claims involving about 17,400 Medicaid clients from April 2012 to last month. The largest chunk of questionable payments, more than $3 million, involved dental care. Inpatient hospital care and hospice care accounted for more than $2.5 million each in questionable payments.
 
Lawmakers directed health and social services officials last year to hire a contractor for the $500,000 pilot program to identify possible cost savings.
 
But the contractor's hiring was delayed, and officials missed an April deadline for submitting the report.