Massachusetts
Office of the State Auditor
Published June 28, 2023

Office of Medicaid (MassHealth) — Review of Capitation Payments

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Overall Conclusion

MassHealth did not ensure that it does not make capitation payments to MCOs on behalf of ineligible members who reside outside Massachusetts; the State Auditor identified approximately $84.8 million in overpayments and issued recommendations to strengthen residency verification and data-matching processes.

Source Document

Audit Scope

January 1, 2018 through September 30, 2021

Key Findings Summary

1

MassHealth made an estimated $84,832,094 in capitation payments to MCOs on behalf of members who were residing outside Massachusetts (in nine other states and Puerto Rico), based on a sample of 100 members; 63 members in the sample had moved to another state or territory and continued to receive capitation payments for periods ranging from 5 to 45 months. Th…

AI-Assisted

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AI Scope Summary

Building on the findings that MassHealth established insufficient residency verification leading to substantial capitation overpayments, future audits should evaluate the robustness of residency determination processes, the reliability of cross-state data sources (including T-MSIS and PARIS), and the effectiveness of remedial actions taken by MassHealth to prevent concurrent out-of-state capitation payments.

AI-Generated Insight

The report highlights significant gaps in residency verification, data matching, and inter-agency data access. Strengthening access to T-MSIS and improving PARIS follow-up could reduce improper capitation payments and improve MassHealth program integrity.