Columbus – A care facility in Stark County received more than $11,000 in Medicaid reimbursements during 2015 for services that never occurred, state auditors found. 

A review of claims submitted by Echoing Ridge Residential Center identified 45 paid days for a patient who was no longer at the facility. 

The reimbursements for those services amounted to $11,445 in overpayments from the Ohio Department of Medicaid.

“Medicaid providers have to exercise due diligence to protect patients and taxpayers,” Auditor Yost said. “That means checking payment records against service documentation and following up on any issues that could identify an improper payment.”

An additional $1,472 in overpayments resulted from the provider holding a patient’s place in the facility for five days in excess of the state’s hold limit.

As an Intermediate Care Facility, the provider is permitted to charge for no more than 30 “bed-hold” days while patients are off premises seeking hospital care or for other reasons, unless it obtains prior authorization. 

A full copy of this report is available 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 5,900 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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Beth Gianforcaro
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614-644-1111