Spending on private Medicaid contractors has ballooned in recent years, according to a report (.pdf) released yesterday by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau. The audit, which looked at Wisconsin's $7.5 billion a year Medicaid program, revealed that payments to private vendors for Medicaid nearly doubled during the past four years and, in some cases, increased beyond the spending limits of the state's budget, reports the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. While contractor spending increased, the number of fraud probes decreased to 1,424 investigations in fiscal 2011 from 2,166 in 2007. The audit raises eyebrows as to whether the state health department can oversee both its contractors and the overall Medicaid programs. Article