Florida Medicaid fraud crackdown saves nearly $1 billion and tightens ABA oversight
Governor Ron DeSantis said Florida's anti-fraud actions have cut projected Medicaid spending by almost $1 billion, especially in Applied Behavior Analysis services.
Florida officials reported that a comprehensive effort to root out Medicaid fraud has reduced the expected annual cost of Applied Behavior Analysis services by nearly $1 billion, lowering the fiscal-year projection from $3.86 billion to $2.88 billion. Since June, the Agency for Health Care Administration has referred over 150 cases to the Attorney General’s Office, placed more than 260 providers under payment restrictions, and terminated over 220 providers for fraud, waste, or abuse, accounting for more than $250 million in prior billing.
Audits revealed troubling patterns such as billing for excessive hours and even more than 24 hours of service in a single day. AHCA Secretary Shevaun Harris warned that such practices not only waste taxpayer money but also harm vulnerable families. To further strengthen oversight, the state established an Applied Behavior Analysis Task Force aimed at increasing program accountability and protecting beneficiaries.
Why it matters
The crackdown protects vulnerable Medicaid recipients and safeguards billions of taxpayer dollars from fraud.
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