OIG report finds insurers collected billions in questionable MA payments

A report released Oct. 24 by the Office of Inspector General found that insurers received an estimated $7.5 billion in Medicare Advantage risk-adjustments for 2023 through health risk assessments and related medical record reviews. OIG said the lack of any other follow-up visits, procedures, tests or supplies for these diagnoses in the MA encounter data raises concerns that either the diagnoses are inaccurate, thus the payments are improper, or MA enrollees did not receive needed care for serious conditions reported only on HRAs or HRA-linked chart reviews. In-home HRAs and HRA-linked chart reviews generated nearly two-thirds of the estimated $7.5 billion, the report said. According to OIG, UnitedHealth Group and Humana accounted for over $5.4B of the estimated $7.5B.