New Oregon health director expects more Medicaid payment issues

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The new head of the Oregon Health Authority says he expects more Medicaid payment problems to emerge in the months ahead.
 
Pat Allen’s admission to state lawmakers on Monday follows revelations that Oregon overbilled the federal government an estimated $74 million for certain Medicaid patients. Those patients should have instead been covered by the federal Medicare system.
 
The Register-Guard reports Allen said “without a doubt,” when asked if more problems will surface.
 
Allen didn’t elaborate, but said a new potential billing issue was brought to his attention just last week.
 
Allen likened the problems to those of a startup business transitioning to a mature business. The rolls of the Oregon Health Plan ballooned in 2014 after the Medicaid expansion that was a key piece of the federal Affordable Care Act.
 
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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com