Senator Bart McMath introduced Senate Bill 24, which would alter the statutory distribution of the Medicaid fraud fund to increase funding available to the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and to support program integrity at the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH).

"This bill would move them closer to being able to fully fund that," Senator Bart McMath said, describing the change as needed to ensure long‑term funding of the Medicaid fraud control unit. (Sen. Bart McMath)

Matthew Stafford, director of the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, testified that the unit and the fund have produced substantial recoveries but the dedicated fund has not kept pace with needs. Stafford said the unit has deposited approximately $45,000,000 into the fund since 1998 while LDH has deposited about $7,750,000; total restitution and recoveries for the state tied to the unit's work were described as about $688,000,000 from 1998 to present. Stafford said the unit's expenditures from the fund sum to about $19,000,000, and that the unit currently needs roughly $3.4 million to fully draw down federal matching funds and expand operations. (Matthew Stafford, Director, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit)

Stafford and Chief Deputy Larry Freeman explained the bill's aim to increase revenue sources and stabilize the fund; committee members asked whether the fiscal note adequately captured returns on investment. The presenters said the long-term return on investment has been "tremendous," and argued that better capitalization would allow more aggressive pursuit of fraud and higher recoveries.

Senator Clough asked about the $688 million recovery figure; staff said that amount is the total recoveries for the unit since the fund's creation and that only certain additional damages feed the dedicated fund under existing statutory rules. The bill includes a $20 million cap on the dedicated account balance to ensure sufficient annual funds for both the AG unit and LDH program integrity while preserving statutory limits for deposits.

Committee action: the committee noted a physical (fiscal) note on the measure and agreed to park the bill for additional review and potential language cleanup between LDH and the Attorney General's Office. No final vote was recorded in the transcript.

Ending: Sponsors said the change would better position the state to pursue provider fraud and increase recoveries; committee deferred action pending fiscal analysis and continued agency coordination.