The California audit didn’t request a specific repayment from the state, but the findings were sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for review. CMS officials didn’t return a request for comment.
Donald White, a spokesman for the inspector general’s office, said the agency stood by the report’s findings and declined to comment further.
This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.