(The Center Square) – A Columbus-area home health agency received nearly $700,000 in fraudulent Medicaid payments over a two-year period, according to Ohio state Auditor Keith Faber.
Faber said a compliance audit showed $661,717 in improper Medicaid payments to Mercy Home Health Services LLC, a Reynoldsburg-based home health agency.
The audit showed Mercy was paid $7.8 million to provide more than 149,800 home health and waiver services, but an auditor’s report showed services were provided without care plans, billed services overlapped and missing service documentation.
Faber’s office is recommending Mercy repay $760,295, which includes interest. The company declined to submit an official response.
The Ohio Department of Medicaid administers health care and related programming to about 2.9 million lower-income residents, older adults, individuals with disabilities, pregnant women, infants and children.
The state auditor, by law and based on an agreement with the Ohio Department of Medicaid, can audit Ohio’s Medicaid providers to determine whether those examined are in compliance with federal and state reimbursement requirements.
The report follows a recent guilty plea from a Dayton woman accused of defrauding Medicaid for $1.5 million after pleading guilty to similar charges six years ago, as previously reported by The Center Square.
Janay Corbitt pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and three counts of third-degree identity theft, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said.
Corbitt was indicted again in May 2024 after investigators said she stole several identities and opened and operated two behavioral health counseling agencies in the Dayton area.
Investigators also said she stole the identity of several licensed counselors and used their credentials to bill Medicaid for services that weren’t provided.
