TOPEKA (KSNT) – The state’s health agency is responding to a report from the Kansas inspector general that claims to identify nearly $800,000 in fraudulent pregnancy coverage.
Kansas Inspector General Steven D. Anderson issued an interim audit report on Feb. 24 which dives into the Medicaid Pregnant Woman Program administered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The audit identifies 62 Medicaid beneficiaries, classified as 45 years old or older, who appear to have fraudulently enrolled in pregnancy-related coverage, resulting in improper payments coming out to a capitation loss of over $798,600.
Anderson’s audit determined that some beneficiaries receiving Pregnant Woman program benefits obtained additional help from the state through other programs. These are listed as the following:
- Child Care assistance
- Food Assistance
- Employment Training (FAET)
- Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP)
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- Water Assistance
- Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Food Assistance Program
- Work Program
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“Our interim report included four recommendations intended to improve KDHE‘s oversight of the program,” Anderson said. “If the recommended updates to policies are implemented, the state of Kansas would have saved approximately $280,000 in 2025.”
We reached out to the KDHE for the agency’s response to the audit report. KDHE spokeswoman Jill Bronaugh responded, stating the report is “incomplete” and the agency did not have the chance to review it prior to its public release.
“The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is committed to the integrity of the Medicaid program and began researching other state Medicaid programs’ policies for verification of pregnancy after the Inspector General’s (IG) concerns were brought to the agency in October 2025,” Bronaugh said. “Because Medicaid programs must accept self-attestation of pregnancy for pregnant women enrolling in Medicaid according to federal regulation (42 CFR 435.956(e)), KDHE requested guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about possible restrictions to self-attestation in January 2026 and has not yet received a response. KDHE cannot move forward with implementing any additional verification without CMS approval.”
Bronaugh explained there are 9,500 people enrolled in a Kansas Medicaid pregnancy category every month. She said the recent audit report identifies less than 1% of this group as fraudulent.
“When taken in context of the 32,774 beneficiaries enrolled in pregnant women programs during the four-year audit period, the 62 beneficiaries suspected of receiving coverage fraudulently are an even smaller share,” Bronaugh said.
Bronaugh said that, due to the incomplete nature of the audit report, the identified capitation costs can only be assumed at present. She said the KDHE looks forward to discussing the report’s preliminary findings with the Office of the Inspector General.
The inspector general’s audit report lists several recommendations for the KDHE to follow in light of the findings of fraud. These include the KDHE establishing a routine for pregnancy and postpartum report reviews to ensure the timely discontinuance of Pregnant Woman coverage and developing procedures for how eligibility staff are to move forward if they find an applicant’s self-attestation of pregnancy is inconsistent with state records.
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Danedri Herbert with the Office of Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said the report has been sent to KDHE Secretary Janet Stanek and members of the State Legislature for their review. The full report can be viewed online by clicking here or by reading it below:
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