North Carolina's DHHS Plagued With Medicaid Corruption

North Carolina’s Medicaid system is a mess.  Mismanagement, fraud and abuse plague this system.  As usual, the Carolina Journal is in the forefront on reporting this disaster:

In all, $580,758 in overtime compensation was paid, mostly to manager- and executive-level personnel in the Medicaid Management Information System from April 1, 2008, to July 31, 2012, without being sent through required procedural channels, the audit found.

The audit did not name the employees involved. That is a “longstanding practice,” Auditor’s Office spokesman Bill Holmes said. “It will be up to the governor and legislature to make any decisions about reimbursement or discipline.”

Neither the governor’s office nor the state Department of Health and Human Services would identify the others who collected the improperly paid overtime. Nor would they say whether reimbursement might be sought or disciplinary action taken.

Information from DHHS said that the audit was done to ensure proper procedures and processes are being followed rather than focusing on individuals. State law precludes release of any information regarding disciplinary action or reimbursement, according to the department information.

Managers generally are exempt from collecting overtime in state government. Exceptions can be approved for well-documented special and emergency circumstances, for which precise details and timelines are supposed to be spelled out.

“We found that Office of State Personnel verbally approved an exception but did not document the terms of the exceptions. We also found inadequate controls and reviews within the Department of Health and Human Services’ manual processing of overtime pay that led to overpayments and other leave and payroll errors,” state Auditor Beth Wood wrote in the preface to the audit report.

It is the second audit in two weeks that Wood’s department has released condemning DHHS operations.

Where is the Charlotte Observer when it comes to reporting this criminal activity?  Oh, that’s right.  They’re too busy kissing the Democratic Party and Obama’s ass.

Source:  http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/display_story.html?id=9907