Dive Brief:
- The state of Maryland may be required to repay the federal government for the funding it received to create its insurance exchange because it failed to formally update its enrollment numbers and projections on the required timeline, according to the HHS' Office of Inspector General.
- Due to the error, $28.4 million was wrongfully paid out to Maryland, the report says.
- State exchange officials dispute that they owe money back, stating that they followed federal guidance. The CMS says it will review the OIG's report and make a decision on whether the funding needs to be reallocated.
Dive Insight:
The review was the result of an inquiry from state representatives on how officials had utilized $100 million in federal funding to build the problem-riddled exchange website.
According to Modern Healthcare, a contractor for the website caused the enrollment confusion after mistakenly providing numbers for the calendar year as opposed to the fiscal year. The state then waited longer than the required amount of time to report its readjusted numbers. HHS says the state should return $15.9 million because it used outdated enrollment data, and $12.5 million for using the incorrect methodology.
This news follows just days after exchange staff voiced concerns over whether the exchange will be able to retain and attract new consumers.