103 NORTH MAIN STREET ° BEL AIR, MARYLAND
21014 ° 410.838.9340 ° FAX: 410.838.9330
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 15, 1998
Rehrmann Calls for Recovery of Medicaid Overpayments
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eileen Rehrmann today demanded that Governor Parris Glendening recover the $80 million the state overpaid to HMO's for the care of Medicaid patients last year, calling the overpayment a "continuation of the pattern of fiscal irresponsibility" that began with Glendening's term as Prince George's County Executive.
"Not only is the Glendening administration not seeking the return of the improperly paid money, but he plans to continue these payments again this year," Rehrmann said. "The purpose of the program is to make it better for the poor, not be a windfall for the HMO's."
State Health Secretary Martin Wasserman, a Glendening appointee, has told a state legislative hearing his department overpaid private HMO's by $80 million last year because of an agency miscalculation. Wasserman told the legislators he also was planning to pay another $56 million this year because it wouldn't be fair to the HMO's to absorb the cut in such a short time.
"If the Glendening administration follows through with its plan to make additional overpayments to these managed care organizations, the state will be burdened with $136 million in cost overruns resulting from miscalculations by state officials," Rehrmann said. "This is not fair to the taxpayers, and I demand that the money be recovered"
Rehrmann said Maryland cannot afford Parris Glendening's "continued pattern of fiscal irresponsibility and poor management that began with his tenure as Prince George's County Executive. He left Prince George's county with a $107 million deficit, and it appears he is trying to do the same thing to the State of Maryland."
Authority: James E. Haupt III, Treasurer
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