The Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services released a report stating that Medicaid programs made over $200 million in improper payments to healthcare providers between 2021 and 2022 for people who had already died. According to the report, more than 207.5 million in managed care payments were made on behalf of deceased enrollees between July 2021 to July 2022.

The improper payments were not limited to a single state, and the issue continues to be persistent, said Aner Sanchez, assistant regional inspector general in the Office of Audit Services. Sanchez has been researching this issue for a decade and emphasized that these kinds of improper payments are a widespread problem. The watchdog report recommends that the federal government share more information with state governments to recover the incorrect payments, including a Social Security database known as the Full Death Master File, which contains more than 142 million records going back to 1899.

The report highlights the need for improved communication and data sharing between federal and state governments to prevent such improper payments in the future. The Office of Inspector General believes that a new provision in the Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill requiring states to audit their Medicaid beneficiary lists may help reduce these improper payments. However, the effectiveness of this provision remains to be seen.

The improper payments to deceased individuals are a result of outdated beneficiary lists and inadequate data sharing between state and federal governments. Medicaid programs rely on state governments to maintain accurate beneficiary lists, but these lists often become outdated due to lack of updates or incorrect information. This can lead to improper payments being made to healthcare providers for individuals who are no longer eligible for Medicaid.

The issue of improper payments to deceased individuals is not unique to Medicaid programs. Similar issues have been reported in other government programs, such as the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. The Social Security Administration's Full Death Master File has been identified as a valuable resource for state governments to verify the status of beneficiaries and prevent improper payments.

The Office of Inspector General's report emphasizes the need for improved data sharing and communication between federal and state governments to prevent such improper payments in the future. The report recommends that the federal government share more information with state governments to recover the incorrect payments, including the Full Death Master File. This database contains records of deceased individuals and can be used to verify the status of beneficiaries and prevent improper payments.

The current status of the issue is that the Office of Inspector General is working with state governments to implement the new provision in the Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill. The effectiveness of this provision will be closely monitored, and the Office of Inspector General will continue to work with state governments to improve data sharing and communication to prevent improper payments in the future.