Illinois owes $4 million to feds following Medicaid missteps, audit shows

Jun. 28--Illinois owes the federal government $4.1 million for failing to seek rebates from drug companies for medications prescribed through the state's Medicaid program, according to a federal audit released Friday.

Under federal law, the federal government will reimburse states for certain drugs prescribed to people on Medicaid, a state- and federally funded health insurance program for the poor and disabled. But in order to get the reimbursements, states must seek rebates from pharmaceutical companies.

Illinois, however, didn't ask drug makersfor rebates on $7.7 million worth of drugs between October 2015 and September 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General. As a result, the state improperly received reimbursements, the report says.

The federal government is recommending Illinois refund it about $4.1 million and strengthen its internal controls to make sure it seeks all the appropriate rebates in the future.

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has agreed with the report's recommendations and said it will work with the federal government to determine the exact amount of money to return, once it finishes going through outstanding claims to see if it can seek more rebates.

Previous federal audits have found similar issues in a number of other states as well.

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