A top state lawmaker laid the blame for Medicaid fraud at the feet of Gov. Mike DeWine and his administration. Shortly after, DeWine announced a slew of proposed fixes.
On May 13, Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, accused DeWine’s Department of Medicaid of putting up hurdles to solving problems within the home health care program, which allows patients to receive nursing and other services in their homes rather than a nursing facility.
Huffman’s comments came after the conservative Daily Wire published a series of articles accusing Ohio of allowing widespread fraud, particularly in Columbus’ Franklin County. The articles have prompted state and federal investigations into the allegations.
Later on May 13, DeWine called Ohio “a national leader in fighting Medicaid fraud” and rolled out a slew of proposals to tackle allegations. They include:
“Today, we are ready to begin several new initiatives long in development that will enhance this nation-leading work and further protect taxpayer funds from those trying to defraud the state,” DeWine said in a news release.
Since the beginning of 2023, Ohio Medicaid and Attorney General Dave Yost have secured 481 fraud convictions and 146 settlements, which recovered $78.4 million in taxpayer dollars.
Vice President JD Vance, who is spearheading a federal anti-fraud task force, said Ohio officials have worked with the Trump administration to address Medicaid fraud.
“You may think that this is purely a red state or blue state issue,” Vance said May 13. “That’s actually not true. We see Medicaid fraud issues in Ohio, the state that I used to represent in the United States Senate. We also see Medicaid fraud issues in a state like Maryland, which is obviously a very blue state. But both Ohio and Maryland have worked with us to take this issue seriously.”
Huffman, McColley critical of DeWine administration’s Medicaid actions
Huffman said lawmakers will pass legislation before June 10 to address the alleged fraud, but the “problem is the Legislature doesn’t execute the laws of the state of Ohio. The executive branch does.”
Huffman said DeWine and his administration have put up roadblocks by vetoing lawmakers’ proposed fixes and not immediately implementing technology to sort out who should be on Medicaid.
“The director, who was in charge of all of this over the last six years, has now departed, and we are now here trying to pick up the pieces of what I would say, at best, was patently negligent execution of the laws of the state of Ohio by the director of the Department of Medicaid,” said Huffman, referencing director Maureen Corcoran who left in October.
Huffman said DeWine is ultimately responsible for his administration’s actions. “As the governor has said on other issues within his administration, the buck stops here,” Huffman said.
Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, said DeWine’s proposed fixes come a little too late after his administration’s opposition to oversight.
“We’ve received tremendous resistance from the Department of Medicaid when the Legislature’s tried to step in and tried to offer its own oversight,” said McColley, who is Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s running mate.
House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, said he’s seen no evidence of widespread fraud. But if there are issues, Republicans who control state government are to blame, he said.
“If there’s widespread fraud, it’s the fault of the people who were supposed to be auditing, who were supposed to be investigating, who were supposed to be prosecuting and enforcing the laws, and it is a failure if they haven’t,” Isaacsohn said.
Ohio governor candidates call for Medicaid investigation
Both candidates campaigning to replace DeWine have called for investigations into the home health care fraud allegations.
Ramaswamy, in a social media post, promised to return money from Medicaid fraud to “law-abiding Ohioans” if he were elected. “Ohio spends over $40BN on Medicaid every year & there are undoubtedly a large number of dollars going to people who shouldn’t be getting it.”
Dr. Amy Acton, a Democrat who previously worked for DeWine, wrote on social media: “The endless corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse that has gone on for decades in our Statehouse will come to an end when I’m governor.”
State government reporter Haley BeMiller contributed to this report.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.
Tell us what you think
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: DeWine rolls out Medicaid reforms amid criticism from House speaker
Reporting by Jessie Balmert, Columbus Dispatch / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
