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Report: NJ marred by fraudulent charity care program

Patient Financial Services Weekly Advisor, April 20, 2007

A New Jersey State Commission of Investigation report this week found that taxpayers have spent tens of millions toward a statewide charity care initiative stumped by fraud and oversight, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The report found that the New Jersey Hospital Care Payment Assistant Program was marred by uninvestigated fraud allegations and the state's unwillingness to recover money from private insurance carriers, litigation settlements, and other programs, reports the Inquirer.

"Charity care is highly vulnerable to recipient fraud because the two state agencies that administer the program-the Department of Health and Senior Services and the Department of Human Services-have no effective mechanism to detect such fraud and do not actively pursue credible complaints or suggestions of fraudulent activity," the report states.

The commission said the state has ignored fraud allegations for years. The charity care program paid for $1 million in medical services for people who didn't qualify for coverage, according to the report.

The program has cost the state and federal government $600 million a year and has helped 300,000 residents each year.

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