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OIG Finds $207.5 Million in Medicaid Managed-Care Payments for Deceased Enrollees

A 2025 law expands access to the Social Security death database, with quarterly audits beginning in 2027 to curb overpayments.

FILE - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building is seen, April 5, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Money | (Catherine McQueen/Getty)
A visitor checks in at the front desk of the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services offices in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. Virginia's inspector general is investigating a contract worth up to $1.5 million that the state's Medicaid office awarded to a company owned by a former U.S. government employee who helped oversee federal oversight of the state. (Steve Helber/AP)

Overview

  • The nationwide audit identified improper payments made between July 2021 and July 2022 on behalf of people recorded as dead.
  • The watchdog urged federal sharing of the Social Security Administration’s Full Death Master File to help states detect and recover funds.
  • The new tax-and-spending law, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, requires Medicaid agencies to run quarterly checks of beneficiaries and providers against the death file starting in 2027.
  • A Treasury pilot using temporary access to the death file previously reclaimed more than $31 million, indicating recoveries are achievable.
  • OIG officials describe the problem as persistent across states, with some programs already recouping overpayments as data-sharing limits and file changes complicate matching.