Paper Check Medicaid Payments Made to Mailbox-Rental Store Addresses

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' State Medicaid Manual sets forth general Federal requirements for adequate documentation of Medicaid claims. The Medicaid program requires potential providers to submit an application to bill for Medicaid services, and potential providers can choose to be paid by an electronic funds transfer (EFT) or a paper check. Providers must also list their practice and correspondence addresses. Because of theft, forgery, or alteration, the issuance of paper checks to providers carries more risk than using an EFT. A report by the Government Accountability Office identified potential issues with Medicare-provider addresses and revealed that payments made to a provider with a mailbox-rental store, vacant, or invalid practice address increase the potential risk of fraud, waste, or abuse. We will assess whether similar problems exist with the Medicaid program. Specifically, we will determine if Medicaid payments issued by paper checks and sent to providers with mailbox-rental locations were for unallowable services.

Announced or Revised	Agency	Title	Component	Report Number(s)	Expected Issue Date (FY)
Removed	Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services	Paper Check Medicaid Payments Made to Mailbox-Rental Store Addresses	Office of Audit Services	W-00-18-31528	2019