State Auditor Investigation Finds California Departments Failed To Properly Administer Drug Medi-Cal Addiction Treatment Program

A state-level review of the California Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS) and the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP) administration of the Drug Medi-Cal outpatient addiction treatment "drug-free" program that provides outpatient services to stabilize and rehabilitate individuals treated for addiction concluded that the two agencies failed to properly administer the program, which created opportunities for fraud. Between July 1, 2008 and December 31, 2013, the state authorized more than $93 million in payments for claims potentially indicative of fraud. During the four-year period, the state approved nearly $1 million in payments to . . .