Davids Works to Cut Waste Through Improper Medicaid Payments for Deceased Beneficiaries
Today, Representative Sharice Davids announced her support for bipartisan legislation to stop improper Medicaid payments for deceased individuals that had gone unnoticed. A recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) report of just 14 states found more than $249 million in improper payments. Davids continues to support strengthening and expanding Medicaid, but also prioritizes the responsible use of taxpayer dollars.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Medicaid improper payment rate was just 5 percent in 2023, marking an 3.5 percent decrease from the previous year. Of those improper payments, 79 percent were due to insufficient documentation, which typically involved situations where a state or provider missed an administrative step.
“Kansans work hard and deserve to see their tax dollars used wisely,” said Davids. “While I strongly support expanding Medicaid to ensure more people have access to affordable health care, it’s also important to eliminate wasteful spending where possible — and do so responsibly. It’s unacceptable for these funds to be improperly paid out instead of going to those who truly need them. This bipartisan bill is a common-sense solution to improve oversight, reduce waste, and ensure accountability in government spending — without the extreme and reckless cuts that undermine critical programs.”
The Leveraging Integrity and Verification of Eligibility for (LIVE) Beneficiaries Act, which Davids voted to pass last year, would require states to check the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File database on a quarterly basis and verify that Medicaid patients are not deceased and still properly enrolled in the program. Should there be discrepancies, state Medicaid programs would be required to disenroll deceased beneficiaries to prevent Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) from improperly billing for those who are no longer living.
The federal audit found that over $249 million in Medicaid payments were improperly made to MCOs on behalf of deceased individuals in 14 states — the cause cited as “various reasons.” In this audit, OIG recommends that CMS improve its oversight by developing a system to match Medicaid enrollment data with the Social Security Administration's death records to identify states that may be making improper payments.
Last month, Davids held a press conference to push back against President Trump and U.S. House Republicans’ proposed Medicaid cuts to fund tax giveaways for billionaires and big corporations. These cuts would have severe consequences for Kansans, threatening the well-being of children, seniors, people with disabilities, and working families. Davids firmly believes that the bill announced today offers a responsible approach to eliminating fraud — without resorting to reckless, politically-driven actions that harm hardworking Kansans.
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