County Considers Options To Repay Medi-Cal
Fresno County supervisors on Tuesday voted to postpone using $5 million in excess health service funds to repay the state $3.7 million for Medi-Cal overcharges, the Fresno Bee reports. The county will wait to decide how it will handle the repayments until the completion of an investigation that could uncover some of the overpayments.
Supervisor Henry Perea said that the county should determine which former county administrators are accountable for the incorrect Medi-Cal claims.
However, County Counsel Dennis Marshall said that an investigation will have difficulty prosecuting or seeking monetary damages because the overpayments did not benefit individuals but were used to expand human services programs.
Supervisor Susan Anderson said the county used the funds to form a Human Services System that oversaw the county's human services departments.
The county owes the money because of payments it received for Medi-Cal claims submitted in 2003 through 2004.
Vicki Crow, auditor-controller/treasurer-tax collector, said the county has returned at least $10 million in overpayments since 1999 through 2000 (Ginis, Fresno Bee, 12/13).