As America endures yet another government shutdown, Washington is once again absorbed in the same circular debate over whether to increase Medicaid funding or focus on cutting waste and enforcing accountability. Meanwhile, states like mine are learning just how much of that spending never reaches the people it’s supposed to help.
Earlier this fall, my office uncovered more than $800 million in wasted Medicaid dollars in Kentucky alone — money paid out over four years for individuals who may no longer live in our state. These funds didn’t go toward medical care for vulnerable Kentuckians. They flowed to managed care organizations because the Department of Medicaid Services failed to follow federal alerts designed to prevent duplicate payments across multiple states.
