Nebraska DHHS made Medicaid payments for 13 dead people in March

The Nebraska State Office Building on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, in Lincoln. (Rebecca S. Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — The Nebraska State Auditor’s Office saw dead people in Nebraska’s Medicaid payments to managed care organizations as part of an audit, so it dug deeper and found 13.

The Auditor’s Office reviewed all regular monthly payments made in March to managed care groups by Nebraska’s Medicaid program under the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

It identified 83 payments worth a combined $65,554 that were made on behalf of 13 Nebraska recipients of Medicaid after they had died, according to a letter from Auditor Mike Foley’s office.

The state systems that HHS oversees are supposed to flag the Medicaid program when HHS’ own Office of Vital Records notifie