Grassley to offer proposal on Medicaid oversight

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) plans to crack down on lax Medicaid-financing oversight. His announcement follows a GAO study that revealed most states are paying consultants to help generate higher Medicaid funding from the federal government.

Questionable state tactics must end, said Grassley. He plans to send letters to governors warning about the consultants. Moreover, anti-fraud efforts could be improved by having CMS calculate an "improper payment rate" in Medicaid each year, he said.

His comments came during a two-day hearing on Medicaid by the Senate Finance Committee. Despite possibly widespread improper accounting tactics used by states, the committee's effort to reduce Medicaid spending by $10 billion would not focus on state-federal Medicaid financing arrangements, Grassley said.