Somali-run home care agencies aren’t the only Medicaid recipients failing audits. The immigrant resettlement organization Catholic Charities of Maine failed two audits, one in 2020 and one in 2024, all while taking in millions in taxpayer funds.
[RELATED: Catholic Charities Maine Plans to Resettle 150 Refugees in 100-Mile Radius Around Bangor…]
In July 2020, auditors with MaineCare’s Office of Program Integrity sent Catholic Charities of Maine a notice of violation after a review of their 2016-2018 Medicaid billing.
The review found that the resettlement organization failed to provide a variety of records, including comprehensive assessments of patients’ medical needs, individual treatment plans detailing goals for services provided, and progress notes on patients.
As a result of the findings, auditors ordered Catholic Charities to repay $76,759, a substantial amount of money, but relatively small when compared with the $2,727,107 it received in just 2020.
According to Medicaid records obtained by The Maine Wire via a Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) request, Catholic Charities of Maine received a total of $19,722,082 in taxpayer Medicaid funds from 2019 to 2024.
In response to the findings against them, Catholic Charities claimed that they did, in fact, comply with MaineCare’s requirements and provided additional information.
Auditors reviewed the appeal and additional information, and revised the recoupment down substantially to just $5,305.
Audit records show that the Medicaid recipient did not appeal the second finding.
Years later, in 2024, Catholic Charities of Maine failed another audit, this time after auditors found that they were allegedly overbilling for drug tests.
Auditors ordered the organization to repay $41,823. Records obtained by The Maine Wire do not show any appeal from Catholic Charities and do not indicate whether the money was paid back.
Catholic Charities Maine was forced to shut down its Greater Bangor Refugee and Immigration Services (RIS) center last year in response to federal funding cuts under the Trump administration and a drastic reduction in the number of refugees the U.S. will allow to be resettled in the country.
