Review of Medicaid Hospice Payments Made by Massachusetts for State Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008

Our review found that the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (the State agency) did not use the correct per diem rate, make the appropriate payment reduction, or reduce Medicaid payments to hospices by the amount of beneficiaries' financial contributions for 2,056 of the 5,304 claims we reviewed for State fiscal years 2007 and 2008. As a result, the State agency's Federal claim was overstated by a total of $1.7 million ($826,000 Federal share).