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Kentucky lawmaker grills witnesses at hearing for not providing fraud info to committee
Kentucky GOP Rep. Brett Guthrie on Thursday grilled witnesses during a Medicaid hearing for not providing requested fraud information to the committee before the hearing.
“So first, Director Bassiri- New York has failed to provide certain information in response to the committee’s letter,” Guthrie said. “For example, you have not provided simple information such as all the state’s designated risk levels for Medicaidonly providers.”
He added that New York State Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri only provided basic information about the frequency of onsite visits in improper payment recovery efforts to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
“Why have you been unable to provide that information to the committee?” Guthrie asked.
Bassiri said he has been as responsive as he could because there have been many inquires.
Guthrie pressed him and said, “Will you commit to providing that information to this committee that we’ve requested?”
“Thank you for the follow-up,” Bassiri answered. “We agree that transparency is paramount. I can’t commit to that here, but I’m happy to take that back and get back to you as soon as I can.”
The committee held a hearing titled "State Medicaid Program Integrity: Examining Fraud Risks and Oversight Deficiencies."
Guthrie went on to question the California State Medicaid Director Tyler Sadwith. He said that the committee didn’t receive requested information until the night before the hearing, which was unfair to the members on the committee.
“I acknowledge the frustration,” Sadwith said in response to Guthrie. “We have been working with committee staff to produce information and address the questions, including the list of 26,000 audits and investigations we have conducted over the past five years.”
Guthrie asked if they would commit to sending requested fraud information to the committee in a timely manner.
“There are ongoing law enforcement investigations that would be impacted by those specific audits that were requested,” Sadwith said. “We’re happy to provide the appropriate information at the appropriate time.”