HEALTH
Feds to investigate whether Medicaid firms are unfairly denying care to disabled people
Tony Leys
The Des Moines Register
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Federal investigators will look into whether private Medicaid management companies, including those covering more than 600,000 poor or disabled Iowans, are unfairly denying services.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey requested the review last week. The Pennsylvania Democrat wrote to the Department of Health and Human Services that he was troubled by media reports that the companies were cutting care to disabled Americans who rely on Medicaid.
Casey cited articles from the Des Moines Register and the Dallas Morning News about managed care organizations denying care.
“It is the duty of MCOs, as a steward of taxpayer dollars, to spend Medicaid funds responsibly in pursuit of the health of our families,” he wrote. “What the Dallas Morning News and Des Moines Register uncovered, however, were actions taken by the MCOs focused squarely on delivering profits to wealthy shareholders at the expense of those most in need of care.”
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The federal agency’s Office of Inspector General agreed to look into the matter. A listing on its website says a [...]