State auditors say Arizona’s Medicaid program gets it right nearly all of the time when determining whether people applying for government-paid health care are eligible.
The Auditor General’s Office estimates that the Arizona Health Cost Containment System’s error rate is just over 1 percent.
The office says that means the Medicaid program pays between $3.5 million and $4.8 million a month for ineligible people, out of the program’s monthly payments of $414 million.
Medicaid Program Director Thomas Betlach says the error rate is “commendable” considering that the program’s member services division has lost two-fifths of its staffing since the recession began while enrollments jumped by a third.
But Betlach says the program will abide by the auditors’ recommendation for corrective action.
Steps would include additional training for case workers and more supervision.
