A recent report from HHS' Office of the Inspector General has revealed Illinois overdrew a federal Medicaid account over a three-year period in amounts ranging from $28.6 million to $193.7 million.
From 2010 to 2012, due to "imprecise" accounting methods used by Illinois, the state was unable to repay the federal government the overdrawn amounts until two to six months after the funds were used. This may have resulted in the federal government losing up to $792,000 in interest during that time, according to the report.
The state was unable to immediately repay Medicaid account because Illinois deposited the funds into its general revenue account, which also included money used for pensions, transportation and education. The intermingled funds were used to pay other bills.
The OIG's decision to audit Illinois was based on findings from a previous external audit that found states owed the federal government $1.3 billion at the end of 2011, according to the report.
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