AUGUSTA (AP) — A leading Democrat wants answers after a federal audit revealed the state didn’t investigate untimely and unexplained deaths in group homes for the developmentally disabled.

Democratic Rep. Patty Hymanson says the Legislature’s health and human services committee will work with the state to understand how such incidents happened and improve oversight of group homes.

Hymanson says committee members should know whether the report could jeopardize federal funding.

The audit was released last week by the federal Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokesman says the office is reviewing audits uncovering similar concerns in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Audits haven’t impacted those states’ Medicaid funding.

The office may consider Maine’s audit as it negotiates a Medicaid waiver.

Maine State House is the state capitol of the State of Maine in Augusta, Maine, USA.
Getty Images/iStockphoto

Maine State House is the state capitol of the State of Maine in Augusta, Maine, USA.

Comments are not available on this story.

filed under: