Columbus – State auditors had to go digging into a basement for records to complete the audit of Cuyahoga County-based Greathouse Medical Transportation, LLC.  Nearly $1 million in findings were issued against the ambulette company today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

“I suppose on the bright side the records did, in some cases, exist,” Auditor Yost said.  “But this is no way to run a company that receives tax dollars.”

The audit reviewed Greathouse Medical Transportation, LLC for compliance with Ohio’s Medicaid reimbursement rules during the period of January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010.  Upon beginning the field work, auditors were brought to the basement of the provider’s personal residence to look for documentation.  Records also were found in the provider’s attic, crawl space and storage closet.

A statistical sampling of services provided found 141 instances where no certificate of medical necessity (CMN) was included and 20 instances where the CMN was not valid.  Ohio law requires CMNs in order for ambulette services to be covered by Medicaid.

Auditors also found several hundred instances where trip documentation was either incomplete or disorganized.  For 80 transports, the billed mileage exceeded the documented mileage.  The provider also billed for 374 canceled trips without the proper documentation required for billing a cancelled trip.  A review of qualifications of 11 ambulette drivers found that none of the drivers tested were eligible to transport patients.

Findings in the audit forwarded to Ohio Medicaid total $1,013,028.84 -- $930,624 in overpayments plus $82,404.84 in interest.