Taxpayers may have paid twice for some AIDS prescriptions because the Maryland AIDS Administration has not adequately screened drug coverage claims, according to a state audit released Monday.

The administration did not verify that claims were “supported by valid physician prescriptions” or that they “had not also been paid by third party insurers,” including the state?s own Maryland Health Insurance Program (MHIP), according to the report released by the Office of Legislative Audits. “As a result, a pharmacy could request authorizations to dispense medicationsthat were not prescribed … or bill the Administration for claims that were also paid by third party insurers.”