Rep. Mike Dovilla's Medicaid Probe Uncovers Billions in Potential Waste, Garners National Attention

COLUMBUS— State Representative Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) is sounding the alarm over what he calls a “troubling abdication of oversight” in Ohio’s Medicaid system, following an ongoing legislative inquiry that revealed billions in potentially improper benefit payments. Preliminary findings suggest the state may be disbursing more than $6 billion annually to ineligible recipients—a figure Rep. Dovilla says demands urgent scrutiny.

“These findings raise serious questions about the integrity of a program intended to serve the truly vulnerable,” said Rep. Dovilla. “Taxpayers deserve to know if their hard-earned dollars are being spent responsibly—and right now, that answer is far from clear.”

The investigation, launched in April, began with Rep. Dovilla contacting LexisNexis Risk Solutions and other vendors tasked with verifying Medicaid eligibility. LexisNexis reported that among 371,418 individuals in the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (ABD) category it analyzed, twenty-nine percent—over 106,000 people—held assets above the program’s $2,000 limit. Some had assets exceeding $1 million.

Despite the significance of those findings, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) has been unable to provide specific answers about how it acted on those red flags. ODM maintains that eligibility decisions rest with county-level caseworkers and that it does not track outcomes at the state level, a structure Rep. Dovilla argues is untenable for a program with a $31.85 billion annual cost.

“To not audit flagged cases, not review outcomes, and not even ask the right questions is a recipe for institutional failure,” said Dovilla. “And that is precisely what we are uncovering.”

Rep. Dovilla has formally requested a breakdown of Medicaid disenrollments in 2023, an internal compliance audit, and a legal opinion on ODM’s interpretation of federal verification laws. He has warned that hearings and legislation may follow if the agency continues to sidestep basic accountability measures.

The probe has drawn increasing interest from both local and national media. In recent weeks, Rep. Dovilla shared his findings with The Advocate, Ohio Press Network, Ohio Political News, and Bob Frantz on Strictly Speaking. His investigation was also featured in Breitbart News and, most recently, gained national attention during an interview with former Congressman Matt Gaetz on One America News Network.

“This is about safeguarding the public trust,” said Dovilla. “Our Medicaid safety net must be preserved for those who need it—not eroded by mismanagement and lack of oversight. The fact that this story is resonating far beyond Ohio tells us this is not just a state issue—it’s a national one.”

Rep. Dovilla emphasized that his focus remains on restoring integrity and transparency in public programs. “Ohio has an opportunity to lead here,” he added. “We owe it to taxpayers and to the people who depend on Medicaid to get this right.”