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Western Iowa agency billed Medicaid for services already covered by state contract

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May 10th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Department of Public Health officials asked for the review of a non-profit called FAMILY, Incorporated. It links needy residents to a variety of government services for women, children and families in Pottawattamie and Mills Counties. The review centered on the organizations’s contracts with state agencies — one for home visits with pregnant women and families with young children and the other for a program called Early Childhood Iowa. Auditors determined that over a four-year period, FAMILY, Inc. billed Medicaid for more than 20-thousand dollars in services already covered by the contracts.

State Auditor Rob Sand says due to a lack of records, it was not possible to determine if improper billing happened before July 1, 2017. According to the auditor, the Iowa Department of Public Health adopted more cross-checks last year to ensure other providers aren’t double-billing for these same services. A spokesperson for FAMILY, Inc. was not immediately available for comment when the special investigation by the state auditor’s office was released this (Tuesday) morning.