A state audit says Louisiana's health department made nearly $2.7 million in Medicaid payments to state prisoners, who are not eligible for the benefits.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A state audit says Louisiana's health department made nearly $2.7 million in Medicaid payments to state prisoners, who are not eligible for the benefits.
The audit, released Monday, says the monthly Bayou Health and Louisiana Behavioral Health Program payments were made for 2,644 inmates over the 23 months ending Dec. 31, 2013.
Medicaid director J. Ruth Kennedy says in a response filed with the audit that the Department of Health and Hospitals expects to get back all of the money by the end of August.
She says the Department of Health and Hospitals has been getting a weekly file of prison inmates from the Department of Corrections since last September. The health department uses that information to remove inmates from both plans.