OIG to audit Pennsylvania's Medicaid MU program

Following up on its promise to conduct more Meaningful Use (MU) audits, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) plans to audit Pennsylvania's Medicaid program and its MU payments.

Based on discussions with other states that were audited, the OIG is likely to focus its audit on making sure hospital EHR Incentive Program payments were made correctly, and that the state Medicaid EHR Incentive Program payment calculations were accurate, according to an announcement posted on the website of the Hospital & Health System Association of Pennsylvania (HAP).

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), HAP also said, does not believe the OIG audit will involve actual hospital MU attestations, since hospitals attest directly to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and CMS audits MU for hospitals.

The state's hospitals won't necessarily need to do anything but one has been contacted by OIG in connection with the state Medicaid EHR Incentive Program audit.

OIG conducted an MU audit of Massachusetts last year during which the agency found that the state made faulty payments to 19 hospitals, a $3.3 million error. The agency also conducted an audit of Louisiana and found incorrect payments totaling $1.4 million in overpayment.