Columbus – Yama Transportation (Lucas County) billed Ohio Medicaid for services it could not have provided, according to an audit released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost. 

The one-man operation claimed to have provided services requiring at least two people.

“The laws of Medicaid transports are similar to the laws of physics,” Auditor Yost said. “One man cannot drive the ambulette and provide attendant services in the back of it at the same time.” 

The audit reviewed 1,447 attendant services and determined that none were valid. According to Ohio law, an attendant is employed by the provider to aid in the transfer of a Medicaid covered recipient. However, the owner of Yama Transportation was the only employee and therefore could not provide attendant services. These billings were disallowed, resulting in overpayments of $13,058.75.

A separate statistical sample of 588 services identified 371 errors, which resulted in overpayments totaling $37,176. Errors included 259 transports that did not have a Certificate of Medical Necessity (CMN) from a physician and 112 transports with improper documentation. 

With interest in the amount of $3,623.10, Yama Transportation owes the Ohio Department of Medicaid a total of $53,857.85. 

A full copy of this audit may be accessed 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 5,800 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.

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Carrie Bartunek
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614-644-1111