Company chosen to manage Oklahoma’s Medicaid program accused of fraud in Ohio

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Centene Corp. also faces fraud investigation in Mississippi

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OKLAHOMA CITY, March 25, 2021 – One of the four insurance giants picked to oversee Oklahoma’s Medicaid program faces allegations of fraud in Ohio and is under investigation for similar actions in Mississippi.

 

Ohio Attorney General Mike Yost filed a federal lawsuit against Centene Corp., saying the company devised an elaborate scheme to maximize company profits at the state’s expense.

 

“Corporate greed has led Centene and its wholly owned subsidiaries to fleece taxpayers out of millions,” Ohio’s Republican attorney general said. 

 

The Ohio lawsuit, filed March 11, alleges Centene created a web of subcontractors to inflate pharmacy costs for Medicaid recipients. 

 

Mississippi’s attorney general is investigating similar allegations according to media reports from that state.

 

“This is a perfect example of why Oklahoma’s Medicaid program should not be placed in the hands of corporations,” said Debra Billingsley, executive director of the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association (OPA). “An insurance company is motivated by profit. The state employees who have been running a model program for years have no such motives.”

 

OPA is part of a coalition that opposes the ongoing effort to privatize Medicaid. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority named Centene and three other insurance companies to administer its Medicaid program beginning Oct. 1. 

 

Although the contracts involve more than $2 billion annually in state money, the legislature was bypassed in the decision-making process.

To learn more about the Oklahoma coalition urging legislators to deny funding to this flawed privatization plan, go to www.healthcareholdup.com.