Ohio Medicaid Foul-Ups With Accidental Termination Of 4,200 Providers
On March 18, 2015, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (Department) issued letters to approximately 4,200 Ohio Medicaid Providers stating they have been terminated and/or excluded from the Ohio Medicaid Program. The Department subsequently issued a notice on its website addressing their action and subsequent letters. The Department acknowledges that the termination and/or exclusion of providers was made in error. Ohio Medicaid spokesman Sam Rossi told The Columbus Dispatch the letters were the result of a coding mistake made during a routine update to the Medicaid Information Technology System (MITS). The Department stresses that all the letters were sent “in error and should be disregarded.” Furthermore, all affected providers have been restored to an active status. The impact of exclusion and/or termination of these providers would have stopped all services on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries.
Medicaid officials have been contacting the affected providers to explain the glitch. However, providers impacted are encouraged to contact the Ohio Medicaid Provider Hotline at 1-800-686-1516 if they have additional questions or concerns. Needless to note, this notice caused a considerable amount of confusion in the provider community.
Ohio Department of Medicaid. Important Notice to Medicaid Providers. 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. <http://medicaid.ohio.gov/providers.aspx>
Price, Rita, and Ben Sutherly. “Ohio Medicaid Letter Drops 4,200 Providers in Error.” The Columbus Dispatch. N.p., 23 Mar. 2015. Web. <http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/03/24/ohio-medicaid-letter-drops-4200-providers-in-error.html>.
