The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General has begun an audit of the Medicaid Meaningful Use incentive payments made by the state of Pennsylvania to hospitals, according to the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP). The payments were made by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, which has an online payment estimator to help hospitals determine the incentive payment they may be entitled to.
"Based on discussions with other states that were audited, the OIG is likely to focus its audit on making sure hospital EHR Incentive Program payments were made correctly, and that the state Medicaid EHR Incentive Program payment calculations were accurate," HAP said in a statement. "DHS does not believe the OIG audit will involve actual hospital meaningful use attestations, since hospitals attest directly to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and CMS audits meaningful use for hospitals."
The OIG has audited several other states' Medicaid Meaningful Use payments and had indicated in this year's work plan that it intended to continue to do so. Announcement