By Mark Binker
WRAL
RALEIGH, N.C. — A spot check of the largest hospitals bills North Carolina paid for prison health care between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, found the state’s prison system overpaid by 10 percent on more than $1 million worth of claims.
A report by the State Auditor released Wednesday showed the state paid $105,700 on 10 bills submitted by eight hospitals. The report does not disclose the names of the hospitals or the conditions of the inmates.
“The division did not previously identify these or any other over-billings because it does not perform externally focused recovery audits of hospital charges,” the report says.
Auditors looked only at the 10 largest hospital claims during the fiscal year. The report notes that the division paid a total of 893 hospital claims totaling about $14 million in costs.
Full story: Audit: State needs to better track costs for inmate health care