COLUMBUS – State auditors identified $661,717 in improper Medicaid payments over a two-year period to a Columbus-area home health agency, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced Tuesday.

With added interest, the Auditor of State’s Office is recommending repayment of $760,295 from Mercy Home Health Services LLC as part of a recently completed compliance examination.

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, and others.

The Auditor of State, as allowed by statute and pursuant to an agreement with the Ohio Department of Medicaid, audits Ohio’s Medicaid providers to determine whether those examined are in compliance with federal and state reimbursement requirements.

The Department of Medicaid and/or the Ohio Attorney General’s Office ultimately take action to gain compliance and recoup any inappropriate or excess payments.

Mercy Home Health Services, a Medicare-certified home health agency with one location in Reynoldsburg in Franklin County, was paid $7.8 million to provide more than 149,800 home health and waiver services.

Issues identified in Tuesday’s report included services provided without care plans, billed service times that overlapped, and missing service documentation.

The full report is available online at ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/search.aspx.

Mercy Home Health Services declined to submit an official response.

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The Auditor of State’s Office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.

Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov