• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Providers owe Medicaid $1 billion in back taxes

Patient Financial Services Weekly Advisor, November 16, 2007

Doctors, hospitals, and healthcare providers in seven states owe more than $1 billion in back taxes to the government under Medicaid, a report in the Wall Street Journal says.

Most of the Medicaid providers withheld money from their employees for Social Security, Medicare, and personal income taxes, the report says.

The US Senate triggered the probe. It was administered by the Government Accountability Office, which reported 5% of Medicaid providers in seven states owe money. It amounts to more than 30,000 providers.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services does not check for tax debts. Providers can bill Medicare even if they owe in back taxes.

"The fact is, we believe that the stated goals of this investigation were based on misconceptions about the authority and responsibilities of the Medicaid program. Moreover, the report leaves the unfortunate impression that CMS and the states should be conducting certain activities, even if precluded under current federal law," CMS spokesman Jeff Nelligan says in the Journal.

To read the full story in the Wall Street Journal, click here.

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive