Pa. questioned by feds over drop in Medicaid rolls

The federal government is asking why Pennsylvania’s Medicaid rolls dropped over the past year, and is suggesting that some people might have been improperly kicked off.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says it hasn’t received a response from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to its June 14 letter. In its letter, it says a Philadelphia assistance office had a serious backlog of documents and, as a result, it may have been improper to kick anyone off Medicaid for lack of eligibility information.

Department spokesman Carey Miller says the agency isn’t sure how many people were improperly kicked off Medicaid. But she says agency officials believe they’re in compliance with federal rules and have fixed and will continue to fix any errors they find.