Over a two-year period, Indiana paid at least $1 million for medical coverage for Hoosiers who had already died. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) discovered the problem in a recent audit.

The audit found Indiana Medicaid failed to record death notifications in 2016 and 2017. This led to an estimated $1.1 million in payments to managed care organizations on behalf of dead Hoosiers.

The audit also found that even when the state was aware of some deaths, the payments still weren’t recovered. In a letter to HHS, the director of Indiana Medicaid said the agency will follow the audit's recommendations.

This includes recovering the money, reimbursing the federal government and ensuring death dates are correctly recorded.

Contact Darian at dbenson@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @helloimdarian.