Essay on "Medicaid Health Care Assistance"

Essay 4 pages (1084 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

The reason why is because of the problems that federal government is facing with their run away budget deficits.

Does the organization implement financial accountability measures to ensure that funds are being used properly?

No. Since its inception, Medicaid has not been held to various standards that will ensure transparency and accountability. Evidence of this can be seen with study that was conducted by the General Accounting Office. They found that out of every $10 that is spent on providing health care services, $1 is wasted in fraud. This despite the fact, that the program has undergone various reforms to try to improve transparency. However, the overall amounts of abuse continue in spite of various changes to the program and increased amounts of accountability. (Robertson, 2010)

Recently, there have been continuing efforts to help improve transparency with the states providing increased funding for the investigation of Medicaid claims. A good example of this can be seen with North Carolina implementing a state system that will flag and refer questionable claims to special investigators (who will look into them individually). This is important, because it shows how despite the various abuses that are occurring, there are continuing efforts to address possible fraud. (Robertson, 2010)

When you step back and analyze what is happening, it is clear that Medicaid abuse has been continuing in spite various reforms. As, there have been new programs that have been implemented, but it is too early to see if they are effective at addressing the underlying problem. Therefore, Medicaid in its current state is lacking the traditional forms of accountability that are found in other programs. (Robertson, 2010)

What questions might you ask the agency if you had donated a large sum of money and wanted to know how your money was being used?

If large a sum of money was donated to the Medicaid program there are a number of different questions that would be asked of state and federal government officials to include:

How is the money being spent?

What actions are being taken to address possible fraud?

What kind of accounting standards does the program use?

Are there independent auditors that will evaluate the financial records of the program?

How can the government ensure that the money will be used most effectively?

What communities and states will see the greatest amounts of these resources being used?

What are the basic operating costs of the program this year?

These different questions are important, because the Medicaid program has been filled with fraud and abuse for many years. As a result, they will help to provide an understanding of how the funds will be used and what actions are being taken to improve accountability. Therefore, asking the different questions will give greater comprehension as to: if these funds will reach the intended audience or they will become a part of the billions of dollars that are lost in waste each year.

Bibliography

Overview. (2011), CMS. Retrieved from: https://www.cms.gov/MedicaidGenInfo/

Luhbi, T. (2011). Shrinking Medicaid Funds. CNN. Retrieved from: http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/28/news/economy/medicaid_states/index.htm

Robertson, G. (2010). NC Medicaid Fraud. Business Week. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9EL8IV80.htm

Villareal, P. (2006). Federal Medicaid Funding. NCPA. Retrieved from: http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba566 READ MORE

How to Reference "Medicaid Health Care Assistance" Essay in a Bibliography

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