Columbus – Despite three efforts by Ohio Medicaid to provide education and training for Cuyahoga County-based provider Kareemah Abdullah, a personal care aide, she repeatedly failed to properly document her services.

Those failures to comply with Medicaid requirements resulted in the disallowance of $114,000 out of a total of $203,000 charged to the state of Ohio from 2008 to 2010, according to an audit released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

“The state made every effort to help this provider get it right,” Auditor Yost said. “If you go into the business of providing Medicaid services, you are also in the business of proving to Ohio taxpayers that you have done the job.”

Instead of documenting each service when provided, as required by Medicaid rules, the provider listed tasks representing up to a week’s worth of service at a time. Other failures included not signing or not having her recipient sign her paperwork at the end of each shift, failure to submit any paperwork at all, and overbilling for services provided.

The total amount of unauthorized or undocumented services provided from Jan. 1, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2010 was $114,385.48. With interest in the amount of $16,697.15, the total due is $131,082.63. Interest will accrue in the amount of $25.07 per day until paid.

The Auditor of State’s office performs audits of Medicaid providers to ensure compliance with reimbursement rules and to confirm that services billed to Ohio Medicaid are properly documented and consistent with professional standards of care, medical necessity, and sound fiscal, business, or medical practices.

A full copy of this audit can be found online.

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,600 state and local government agencies.  Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.

Contact:
Carrie Bartunek
Press Secretary
614-644-1111