Report Materials
In response to Hurricane Katrina, section 6201 of the
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 authorized Federal funding for the total costs of
medically necessary uncompensated care furnished to evacuees and affected
individuals without other coverage in eligible States, i.e., States that
provided care to such individuals under section 1115 projects. The University
of Mississippi Medical Center (the Medical Center) received $17.9 million in
uncompensated care reimbursement.
The State agency generally claimed reimbursement for services provided by the
Medical Center in accordance with the approved section 1115 demonstration and
uncompensated care pool plan. Of the 200 sampled claims, 196 claims were
allowable. The remaining four claims totaling $22,379 were improper because the
individuals who received the services had health care coverage under other
programs.
We recommended that the State agency (1) refund to the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) the $22,379 paid to the Medical Center for improper
uncompensated care claims and (2) consider reviewing the Medical Center's claims
that were not included in the sample to ensure that no other health care
coverage was available and make refunds to CMS if appropriate. The State agency
did not fully agree with the recommendations but said that it would make the
proper adjustments in cooperation with CMS.
Notice
This report may be subject to section 5274 of the National Defense Authorization Act Fiscal Year 2023, 117 Pub. L. 263.