Watchdog Requests Records as Colorado Medicaid Costs Draw Investigation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation (TPAF) submitted three Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing seeking documents related to rising Medicaid costs, despite declining enrollment.

The requests, which target agency communications from 2021 through 2024, seek to identify the key drivers behind Colorado’s Medicaid budget. If the state government answers these requests, state taxpayers and program beneficiaries will gain insight into rising per-member costs, changes in utilization, reimbursement rates, and explanations provided to state leadership and lawmakers.

TPAF’s CORA requests come as the state grapples with repeated billion dollar annual shortfalls, driven largely by $5.5 billion in annual Medicaid spending. Additionally, the state’s Medicaid authority recently revealed that a fraud scheme targeting a free transportation program for beneficiaries cost taxpayers $25 million. Fraud has become a growing national concern following at least $9 billion in stolen taxpayer funds identified in Minnesota.

“Especially after the Minnesota debacle, taxpayers deserve clear answers when government spending continues to rise without a corresponding increase in services or enrollment,” said Ross Marchand, Executive Director of TPAF. “Transparency is not optional, especially in programs as large and complex as Medicaid. These records will help determine the role that fraud and administrative bloat are playing in driving spending to historic highs. TPAF will continue requesting information at all levels of government to ensure accountability and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

TPAF will review the records produced in response to the requests and make any findings available to the public.

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The Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public through research, investigative reporting, and analysis about the effects of excessive taxation and spending by all levels of government.