Fraud and abuse in Medicaid waste dollars needed to deliver important healthcare services and can subject patients to unnecessary or ineffective tests and treatments. The State Health Care Spending Project, a joint initiative of the Pew Center on the States and MacArthur, has launched an online database to inform policymakers of the steps their state is taking to address Medicaid fraud. The database aggregates hundreds of anti-abuse practices in states across the nation that have been found to be promising by state and federal Medicaid agencies. The Project reports that an estimated $19 billion – or seven percent – of federal Medicaid funds were spent improperly in 2012. Read the State Health Care Spending Project report.
