Federal Reports

The Alabama Medicaid Agency (State agency) claimed school-based Medicaid administrative costs that were not in accordance with Federal requirements. It claimed these costs without submitting for Division of Cost Allocation review its public assistance cost allocation plan (CAP) and certain amendments and, consequently, without having an approved CAP. Instead, the State agency claimed costs based on various versions of its implementation guides and plans that were being considered by and negotiated with CMS. In addition, the State agency used statistically invalid random moment sampling (RMS) in allocating costs to Medicaid, and it did not maintain adequate support to validate its sample results and related extrapolations. As a result, the almost $150.5 million (almost $75.3 million Federal Financial Participation) the State agency claimed in school-based Medicaid administrative costs for FFYs 2010 through 2012 was unallowable. The State agency attributed its lack of compliance with Federal requirements regarding submission of the CAP to staff turnover and a lack of knowledge of Federal requirements.

The Alabama Medicaid Agency (State agency) did not comply with Federal and State requirements for claiming $209.5 million ($162.5 million Federal share) in certified public expenditures (CPEs) for Federal fiscal year 2010. The State agency incorrectly claimed $27.5 million ($21.3 million Federal share) because it made errors in its CPE calculation.

This report provides a summary of our investigative findings in cases involving administrative misconduct.

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) block grant program is a Federal-State partnership to provide eligible, low income families with help paying for child care at a provider of their choice. Within the CCDF program, OIG has previously identified fraud, found improper payments, and exposed health and safety concerns at child care facilities. In addition, CCDF has been identified as a Federal program that is susceptible to significant improper payments, with an estimated $311 million in improper payments identified for fiscal year (FY) 2015. This report focuses on how States and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) ensure the integrity of the CCDF block grant program and the results of States' program integrity activities. This work is part of an initiative that OIG is undertaking to address vulnerabilities in grant programs across the Department of Health and Human Services.