Agency: Governor's Office

Line Item: GOPB - Inspector General of Medicaid Services

Function

The functions of the inspector general relative to the state Medicaid program include a broad range of activities aimed at preventing fraud, waste, and abuse of state and federal Medicaid funds. This is accomplished by inspecting, monitoring, and auditing, 1) the usage of federal and state Medicaid funds, 2) agencies and programs for compliance with state and federal requirements, and 3) recordkeeping procedures and record maintenance. In addition, the Inspector General of Medicaid Services is to seek and track the recovery of improperly paid Medicaid funds.

Background

House Bill 84, 2011 General Session, created the Office of Inspector General of Medicaid Services within the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. The bill carried its own appropriation to transfer $2,632,500 ($994,900 General Fund) from the Department of Health to finance the new office's operations. FY 2012 is the first fiscal year of operations for the OIG-Medicaid.

The Governor appoints the inspector general with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of two years.

The appointed inspector general must be a certified public accountant or a certified internal auditor; and have a background in auditing methodology and overall management.

Statutory Authority

The statutory authority for the office is located in UCA 63J-4a, "Office of Inspector General of Medicaid Services."

Intent Language

Under section 63J-1-603 of the Utah Code, the Legislature intends that appropriations provided for the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget-Office of Inspector General for Medicaid Services in Item 3 of Section 25 of Chapter151, Laws of Utah 2011, not lapse at the close of Fiscal Year 2012.

Funding Detail

For more detail about a particular source of finance or organizational unit, click a linked entry in the left column of the table(s) below.