A former federal prosecutor says Republican Governor Kim Reynolds should use already existing fraud fighting options rather than wait for a task force report on Medicaid fraud.
Reynolds appointed the task force this summer. Attorney Kevin Techau led the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals when Democrat Tom Vilsack was governor. During a news conference in Des Moines, Techau said the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is operating below the budget authorized by the federal government and leaving “millions of dollars worth” of fraud “on the table” the unit could recover.
“Why not maximize your resources?” Techau asks. “Why call a task force when you could just do the obvious?”
Techau indicated the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recovers $4 to $5 for every dollar spend on investigations. The federal government covers 75% of the budget for Medicaid Fraud Control Units and each state is required to cover the remaining 25%. Techau said Kansas and Arkansas spend around the same amount on Medicaid as Iowa does and both states have taken a different approach. According to the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units, Kansas has 16 staffers, Arkansas has 23 and Iowa has 10.
“They used the full staff and actually maybe gone above it because they know that’s the way they can bring those tax dollars back that are being misspent,” Techau said.
Dean Lerner, another former Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals director, joined Techau at Friday’s news conference. Both called the governor’s task force “a sham” and “political theater.”
A spokesperson for Governor Reynolds was not immediately available for comment. Reynolds, when creating the task force, said there is no acceptable level of fraud in the Medicaid system, which covers care for low income, disabled and elderly Iowans. The federal government has determined Iowa’s rate for improper Medicaid payments is 1.9%, which is far below the national average of 6%.
